Geheimnisse im Tanzsaal
by Crystal Rose of Pollux
Summary: When missing Kaiba Corp. equipment shows up in the basement of the local performing arts center, the Domino duelists set out to investigate. But what they uncover brings new meaning to the phrase "web of deceit." Completed with chapter 19 and epilogue!
1. Of Thieves and Tarantulas

Author's Note: Well, this is my first attempt at any sort of suspense/mystery story. Many thanks are due to LuckyLadybug, who inspired me to try this genre! The title is German for "Secrets in the Dance Hall" (many thanks to my German professor!). And there'll be a few references to a couple of my other _Yu-Gi-Oh_ fics. Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, except for the people associated with the Dronyche Company.

* * *

Seto Kaiba was hard at work in his office when he received a call from Mokuba, who had been waiting patiently in the lobby.

"Hey, Seto!" the boy said. "The computer chips we ordered have arrived! I just saw the delivery truck! What do you want me to do with them? Should I send for someone to take inventory?"

"I'll be there in a moment," Seto replied. "We paid a fortune for those, and I don't want them handled by just anyone."

"Got it."

He got off of the phone, but the second he had, it rang again.

"Kaiba," Seto said, not recognizing the number.

"Mr. Kaiba?" a voice asked over the line. "I'm the CEO of the Dronyche Company, Aranea Vulsor; I had sent you an email a few days ago considering a possible business deal--"

"I'm afraid you've caught me at a bad time, Miss Vulsor," said Seto, who especially disliked being dissuaded from his original plans. "Perhaps if you called back some other time--"

"This won't take a moment of your time, Mr. Kaiba; I would just like to know when and where we could hold our meeting."

"Anytime during Kaibacorp's hours are fine," he said, getting impatient with the caller. "Unfortunately, they are over for today. So if you could call back tomorrow, I'd be more than happy to discuss this matter."

He hung up with a slight sigh of exasperation. When would people understand that office hours ended at 5:00, and that 5:00 was _not_ 6:15? If he was working late, that was his prerogative, but that didn't give anyone else the right to intrude upon his endeavors.

Remembering that Mokuba was waiting in the lobby with the chips, Seto decided to end his work for the day. Shutting down his laptop, he proceeded to the lobby, but Mokuba wasn't there, and neither were the circuit boards. Assuming that perhaps Mokuba was waiting outside with them, unsure if Seto wanted them here or at the manor, he exited the Kaibacorp building.

Mokuba was there, but he seemed plastered to the wall of the building, his face pale.

"Mokuba!?" Seto asked, concerned about his brother's appearance. "Are you alright?"

Mokuba didn't answer. He merely flinched, and that was when Seto saw what was wrong; there was something moving around in Mokuba's thick hair. Upon closer inspection, Seto was shocked to see that it was a large tarantula, which was slowly walking towards Mokuba's face.

"Seto…" Mokuba said, through gritted teeth. "Get rid of it… just get this thing off of me…"

"Alright… just don't move; you don't want to aggravate it, or it might bite," instructed Seto, looking around for something that he could use to remove the furry arachnid.

"_Hurry_…" Mokuba pleaded, as the spider walked towards his right eye.

Finding nothing, Seto grabbed one of his Duel Monster cards and held it to his brother's face. The second the spider stepped on it, Seto pulled the card away with such force that the creature lost its balance and fell to the concrete. Mokuba stumbled away, sighing with relief. The spider scuttled away under a nearby parked car before Seto had a chance to deal with it.

"Just wait until that thing shows its face back here," Seto vowed. "It will rue the day it ever--"

"Seto, the chips are gone!" cried Mokuba, as he regained his composure. "They were stolen!"

"What!?" Seto demanded, the tarantula banished from his mind. "Who did this!? When!?"

"It all happened so fast," said Mokuba, trying to remove the strands of spider silk from his hair and face. "The delivery truck brought them here, and as it drove away, someone threw that tarantula on my face. Have you ever looked at the underside of a spider's mouth!? Now I know how a bug feels when it's caught in a web! That thing was _huge_--"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, but the chips…" Mokuba went on, upset at having let his brother down. "I couldn't see because of that thing on my face, and I wasn't about to move with it there… Whoever dropped that spider on me must've stolen them while I was trying to get that thing off of me." His face fell in disappointment. "I'm so sorry, Seto; I should've done something to stop them…"

"It's alright," Seto assured him. "But our visitor won't be after I find out who it is…"

Whoever wanted the computer chips was either a thief hoping to make some money on them, or, worse yet, a company rival trying to ruin him. Already, his mind was going through his usual list of suspects. But throwing spiders certainly wasn't the style of Pegasus, Dartz, or the von Schroeders. He wouldn't put it past Bandit Keith, who would have been especially enraged with him after the Capsule Monsters fiasco a few weeks ago, to try to ruin him now. But why would he fling tarantulas around when his little squad of Rare Hunters could easily take the equipment by force? So that ruled him out, too.

"There's nothing we can do at the moment except file a report," said Seto, after pondering over the situation. "But I will not rest until I find out who's behind this. Come on."

Mokuba nodded, still shaken from his arachnid encounter, and the brothers headed for home.

Neither of the brothers had noticed the tiniest fiber-optic transmitters that had been attached to the large spider. These fibers had been slightly damaged in the spider's fall, but were still relaying the brothers' conversation, loudly and clearly, to the guilty party.

* * *

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Domino, another person was also working overtime. Téa Gardner balanced upon her toes as she held a pose upon the wooden floor of the Domino Center for the Performing Arts.

"_Keep your poise_," she ordered herself. "_You wouldn't want Joey giving you a hard time about messing up, now would you…?_"

She had to learn these moves; she had been put in charge of training the younger dancers, which she could only do after learning the routine herself. And that was why she was spending the evening hours alone in the theater. The only one watching her was the mascot of the theater, a green-and-yellow-feathered parrot named Chrissy. Téa leaped from the statue-esque pose and into a series of pirouettes before coming to a graceful pause.

"_You can do better than that…_" she patronized herself.

She tired the routine again, but was startled out of step by a loud crashing sound. Chrissy squawked and flew into the rafters as Téa got over the sudden shock she had received. No one else was supposed to be in the theater at this hour, so she decided to see what was going on.

She had reached the doors of the auditorium when another series of crashing sounds came from right behind the doors.

"_Is someone breaking in here!?_" she thought. "_What could they possibly steal!? This is a theater, not a storehouse for gold!_"

Chrissy squawked again, and Téa shushed her, trying to listen to the low voices right outside the door. The voices faded away, and when she opened the doors, there wasn't a soul in sight. She ventured into the dark lobby of the theater, trying to find any traces of people still there.

"_Guess they realized that this place wasn't worth robbing—ow!_"

Téa flinched as her thin dancing shoes treaded upon small pieces of what felt like small, plastic figures that kid would have left behind. She turned on the lobby lights, and was astounded to discover that they were, in fact, pieces of silicon chips that had broken apart when they had fallen. But who had left them there? And would they be back anytime soon?

Deciding that it would be prudent to leave before trouble arose, Téa gathered up the pieces, turned the lobby lights off and left the building, taking care to make sure that the front doors were locked on her way out.

* * *

A third person was now driving though Domino in a sleek, blue convertible, unaware of the goings-on in town. Mai Valentine was traversing the city with the last of her moving boxes; she had found an apartment, and was keen on calling this city home after reconnecting with Joey, Yugi, Téa, and the rest of her friends. She halted at the traffic light, her eyes gazing around at the familiar, welcoming buildings when a helicopter traveling overhead caught her eye.

"_Isn't that an Industrial Illusions helicopter…?_" she asked herself. "_What would Pegasus be doing back here…?_"

She felt a fresh wave of guilt flow through her; Pegasus had been one of the first ones who had felt her Orichalcos-induced wrath. True, her friends had forgiven her, but she felt as though she owed Pegasus an apology, too. Whether he'd forgive her was anyone's guess.

Her thoughts were diverted by the traffic light changing green again. The thought of reuniting with her friends again drove the helicopter from her mind. What did it matter if Pegasus was in town? Did it really matter if _he_ forgave her? She had received forgiveness from the ones closest to her, and that was all that mattered; that was the reason she was moving to Domino in the first place!

But that didn't erase one question: why was Pegasus here?

* * *

Seto Kaiba, in the meantime, was trying to develop an elaborate plan to take matters into his own hands and retrieve his stolen equipment. Sitting around and waiting was the last thing he felt like doing.

"Seto!" exclaimed Mokuba, who had been watching the news. "There's something here about Schroeder Corporation!"

"The von Schroeders!?" Seto demanded. "What have they done now!? Don't tell me they're using _our_ stolen computer chips for their latest doomed-to-failure project!"

"No..." said Mokuba, his eyes wide. "Siegfried's suddenly fallen sick; he's been rushed to the hospital, and now Leon's trying to handle the company all alone in his brother's absence!"

"Then we certainly don't have to worry about their status as our rivals…" Seto replied, dryly.

"Seto, this is serious!" said Mokuba. "What if he's not really sick!? What if something worse has happened to him, and they're just not letting anyone know about it!? "

"I understand your concern, and I agree that Leon must have a lot to worry about," Seto answered. "But I don't see why you are overly worried about this whole fiasco."

"Because if he's not really sick, whoever got him into that state might be after you next!"

"They wouldn't be the first, and as anyone can see, none of those attempts have worked," Seto pointed out.

Mokuba sighed. Seto was so busy caring for him and for his work that he never seemed to have any concern for anyone or anything else… including his own health and well-being.

Before the brothers' discussion could progress any further, Seto's cell phone rang again.

"If that's the same Dronyche Company again, I'm going to call off the meeting," Seto growled.

But it wasn't them at all; it was Maximillian Pegasus.

"Why's_ he_ calling now?" asked Mokuba, as he glanced at the caller ID.

"I don't know, but with Pegasus involved, it can never be a good thing," he replied, derisively, but still taking the call. "Make it quick, Pegasus."

"Kaiba-boy, you don't even know why I'm bothering to call you!" Pegasus chided. "Let me have a say before you jump to conclusions!"

"Then say it already!" he quipped.

"It's imperative that I meet with you tomorrow--"

"Get in line," Seto replied. "I already have a meeting waiting in the wings, so if that's all--"

"Try listening for once in your life!" Pegasus retorted, his patience uncharacteristically thin. "Otherwise, you may not have a life at all!"

"Is that a threat…?" Seto asked, icily.

"I assure you it isn't," Pegasus replied. "We're in the same boat this time around, and unless you meet with me tomorrow, that boat is going to sink!"

"Spare me the metaphors," Seto replied.

"I can't say too much now, but in the meantime keep one thing in mind," instructed Pegasus. "Beware of any tarantulas you might see!"

"Tarantulas!?" Seto demanded. "Pegasus, what do you know--!?"

But Pegasus had hung up, and Seto's questions were still unanswered.


	2. Chilling Chelicerates

"What's happened, Seto?" asked Mokuba, as his brother continued to glare at the phone. "What did Pegasus say?"

"How would I know?" Seto asked, clearly annoyed with Pegasus. "No one can get a clear answer from him. But I gathered that he wants to meet with me. And he knows more about that tarantula than he's letting on."

Mokuba shuddered, not wanting to be reminded of his experience.

"Unfortunately, if I want any sort answers, I'll have to meet him tomorrow," Seto continued. "_And_ I have to deal with the CEO of Dronyche, too. How do I get myself into these things…?"

"It could be worse…" said Mokuba, wondering how Leon must be feeling after his brother's hospitalization. "And I hope it doesn't get there."

"_With Pegasus involved, there are no guarantees…_" Seto thought, turning back to his laptop.

* * *

Téa, in the meantime, had been walking home, lost in thought about the events that had just taken place a little while ago. It took about a half-dozen calls of her name for her to finally look up. 

"Earth to Téa!" called Mai, pulling up beside her.

"Mai? Hey, welcome back!" she exclaimed.

"I could say the same for you," Mai mused. "So where was that wandering mind of yours headed before I snapped you out of it?"

"Oh, well, I've been practicing my dances, and something really strange happened while I was there…" she said. "Do you have a moment?"

"I'm heading to my new apartment, but I can give you a lift home if you'd like," Mai replied. "You can tell me all about it."

"Oh, thanks," she said, accepting the ride. "Well, long story short, either there's some sort of electronics cache hidden in the theater, or the Opera Ghost fell through a time warp and landed here in Domino. Someone was there while I was practicing, and they left behind bits of silicon chips."

She held out the pieces, and Mai took one of them after stopping at the next traffic light.

"Maybe it's something for the sound equipment or something?" offered Mai, looking over it. "Or lighting? Maybe you're reading too much into it. This _is_ Domino we're talking about; what could possibly happen in a little place like this?"

"Besides Duel Monster tournaments and ancient Egyptian spells?"

"Point taken…" Mai admitted. "So what do you intend to do about it?"

"Nothing for now," said Téa. "Maybe you're right, and it _is_ nothing. But there's only one way to find out."

"You're not thinking of going back there…?" Mai asked, continuing as the light turned green.

"I have to; I work there!" she answered. "I'll just stay overtime again and see what happens. If everything's normal, then it probably was a one-time thing. If not… well… we'll just have to see. Just do me a favor; don't tell the others, or they might go crazy… I'll be there until 7:00 PM tomorrow; if you don't hear from me before then, call Yugi and the others for help."

"You're a little gutsy, aren't you?" said Mai. "Well, completely unrelated to that, did you hear about what happened to Siegfried von Schroeder?"

Téa shook her head.

* * *

Joey Wheeler, in the meantime, had also heard about Siegfried suddenly taking ill. He immediately proceeded to relay the message to Tristan, Bakura, Duke, and then Yugi. 

"I'm not going to pretend that I appreciated him insulting me," Joey was saying to Yugi. "But… in the hospital?"

"I know what you mean," said Yugi. "And it's Leon I really feel for."

"Yeah, no kidding…" said Joey. "I wonder what could've happened…"

"It's times like these I wish I still had the Millennium Puzzle," sighed Yugi. "I wonder what Atem would say if he heard."

"Chances are, he has heard," said Joey, trying to cheer Yugi up. "I'm sure he'd want to help. You're connected, after all; maybe you could contact him if you concentrated long enough."

"Don't think I haven't tried," said Yugi. "But it's failed every time; maybe he's too far away by this time."

"You're too hard on yourself, Yugi," said Joey, wishing he hadn't brought it up. "He can never be far; I told him that just before he left! And speaking of not far, I got an email from Mai a little while; she's coming back tonight!"

"That's great! It'll be just like the Battle City days again… without the Rare Hunters," Yugi added.

"Yeah; I could do without _them_…"

"Couldn't we all?"

"I'll catch you later, then, Yugi," said Joey. "I've gotta tell Serenity the good news; I wanted it to be a surprise, but then I realized that I'd never be able to keep my mouth shut!"

"I wouldn't say that in front of Kaiba; he'd be inclined to agree with you…" said Yugi, with a slight laugh.

"Aww, Yugi; not you, too!"

* * *

It was back to work for Seto Kaiba the next morning. Carefully checking his office for spiders, he proceeded to pick up from where he had left off, anticipating incoming phone calls from Vulsor and Pegasus. 

He wasn't disappointed. Vulsor slated him for a 10:00 AM meeting in the Kaibacorp boardroom, and Pegasus (choosing to be especially annoying, in Seto's opinion) selected a noon meeting, which would force Seto to delay his lunch break by at least an hour.

"Mr. Kaiba, it is a pleasure to meet you," said Vulsor, as she shook his hand. She indicated the man accompanying her. "This is my vice-president, Mr. Chenston Travancor."

"And this is my vice-president, Mokuba Kaiba," Seto replied.

Vulsor glanced at Mokuba, her eyebrows arched.

"I see…" she said, in a patronizing sort of way.

Mokuba held his ground, glaring back at Travancor as if to say, "You've got age, but _I've_ got the smarts!"

"Do you… think it _wise_ to have such a youngster as your second-in-command?" Vulsor asked in an undertone.

"Watch it…" Mokuba growled in an undertone.

"He has never let me down yet," Seto said, coming to his brother's defense.

"I understand that, sir, but you _have_ heard of the illness that has plagued the CEO of Schroeder Corp, haven't you?" she asked. "He, too, has a youngster talking over for him, and the company isn't doing too well in his hands. If the Dronyche Company is going to have business deals with Kaibacorp, we need some assurance that the company will be secure should something require you to take a leave of absence. Why, do you know, Schroeder Corp is on the verge of being taken over? Should Kaibacorp come to that, Dronyche, too, will suffer!"

"Kaibacorp will _never_ come to that," Seto vowed.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, because something strange is going on around here," said Vulsor. "I've been receiving a lot of nasty emails ordering me to stop any further projects. Has Kaibacorp received any of those?"

"No," Seto replied, truthfully. He hadn't received any nasty emails, but he decided that there was no reason to advertise the stolen computer chips. "Maybe you need a better filter."

She didn't dignify the remark.

"Let's get to the point," she said. "My company has seen the prospectus of your next generation Duel Disk, and we would like to invest in its development, as well as your latest virtual reality software."

The meeting continued on with mutual successes.

"We should have another meeting to discuss further progression of our deals," said Vulsor, at the close of the meeting. "And if you'd wish to meet prior to that, it would be my pleasure…"

"No thanks…" Seto replied, flatly.

Vulsor and Travancor departed soon after.

"Ugh!" said Mokuba, making a face. "Seto, I think she just tried to drop you a pickup line!"

"How_ dare_ she compare me to Siegfried von Schroeder!?" Seto growled. "The day's already on a low note, and I still have to deal with Pegasus!"

"Well, Big Brother, as your loyal vice-president, I'll stand by you through thick, thin, and Pegasus!" Mokuba assured him.

"She got to you, didn't she?" Seto asked.

"Maybe a little…" the boy admitted. "Thanks for putting her in her place for me."

A trace of a smile found its way onto Seto's face.

"You don't have to stay for this meeting," he said.

"You sure? Well… since you aren't going to be able to take a lunch break, would you want me to get something for you to eat now?" asked Mokuba. "I was going to get something for myself, so I thought…"

"I'll be fine, Mokuba," Seto assured him.

* * *

Mai had just eaten her lunch when she decided to take a walk to the Kame Game Store to meet with the others. As per Téa's request, she hadn't told them of her plan to investigate the goings-on, though she wasn't all that confident on her friend's judgment in a matter such as this. 

She was passing by a line of cafés when she spotted Mokuba regarding them with utmost scrutiny.

"Hard to find the right eats, isn't it?" she asked him.

"Mai!" the boy exclaimed. "I heard you were coming back! How have you been?"

"Just great," she said. "Hey, can you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Well, you know a bit about electronics, right?"

"Do you even have to ask?" he replied, with a grin.

"I know; silly question," she admitted. "Well, then… what do you make of this?"

She tossed him the piece of silicon chip that she had taken from Téa the previous day. His eyes widened as he realized what it was.

"Is that something for sound or lighting?" she asked. "Something that would be used in a theatrical production, perhaps?"

"No… But where did you find this!?"

"I didn't find it," Mai admitted. "It was picked up at the performing arts center. That why I was wondering if it was something that may have been needed there. What is it?"

"Oh, um…" Mokuba stammered. "You know, Seto would be able to confirm it; I'll go ask him!"

"There's no rush…" Mai began. "Weren't you just about to eat now?"

"It's no trouble at all!" Mokuba insisted. "See you around, Mai!"

With that, he immediately raced back to Kaibacorp at top speed, chip fragment in hand. He restlessly paced the elevator on its climb to the boardroom. When the doors opened, he tore past Pegasus, who had been a yard away from the boardroom door, nearly bowling him over like a ninepin.

"Seto--"

"Watch where you're going!" Pegasus chided the boy.

"Seto, there's something--"

"I thought you were going to get something to eat…?" Seto questioned his brother.

"But I met Mai, and she found--"

"Kaiba-boy, I understand that you were unfortunate to lose your parents, but couldn't you have taught your brother a few manners at least?" asked Pegasus, as Mokuba cast him a cold look.

"Let it go, Pegasus," Seto ordered. "You were the one who insisted on coming; Mokuba actually works here."

Mokuba folded his arms in a mixture of superiority and impatience. He would have to wait until Pegasus left to show Seto the find, but he was willing to do so if it meant watching Pegasus's ego deflate.

"So why _did_ you insist on coming here?" Seto asked. "You mentioned something about tarantulas, and that you knew something about them."

Pegasus's annoyed expression left, and was replaced by a look of urgency.

"I don't know much," he said. "But there's some sort of terrible plan to ruin some of the major gaming companies."

The brother exchanged glances; hadn't Vulsor mentioned something similar?

"I don't know if it's a takeover ploy or just some feud against games in general," Pegasus continued. "But I heard from Dartz not too long ago that someone was plaguing him with untraceable calls and emails. He wasn't too bothered, since his company was just a cover for his identity. But for the rest of us, it's our very lives we're dealing with! Shortly after Dartz informed me of this, Industrial Illusions started getting the brunt of it. It's taken everything I have to keep its good name from turning stale. If it goes any farther, I'll be ruined!"

"Well, I'm pleased to say that Kaibacorp hasn't had much of an issue with that," Seto replied. "We have the most _advanced_ firewalls."

"It's nothing to do with firewalls," Pegasus retorted. "Whoever plagued me moved on to a newer, worse tactic. Siegfried von Schroeder's hospitalization is no mere illness!"

"He was attacked!?" asked Mokuba, wide-eyed; it was just as he had guessed!

"Exactly."

"But wouldn't the authorities have found out who attacked him?" asked Seto. "He's only hospitalized, not in a coma! He would've gotten a good look at his assailant, wouldn't he?"

"Oh, he did," said Pegasus. "And that's what makes this whole thing so dangerous. He wasn't attacked by a person at all; he was bitten by a spider—a brown recluse, to be exact."

"You can't be serious," Seto said, glaring at Pegasus. "You mean to tell me that someone's going around training spiders to bite people?"

"They're not being trained," Pegasus explained. "They were planted in places he was sure to go; his desk, his shelves… the second they were disturbed, they struck back naturally."

Mokuba placed a hand to his head where the tarantula had been yesterday, making sure there was no bite.

"It starts with tarantulas," Pegasus goes on. "They're so large that people focus on them, allowing the smaller, more dangerous ones to sneek in. They hide in the small corners, and… you know the rest."

"Will Siegfried be alright?" asked Mokuba.

"I assume so. From what I heard, they were able to get him the anti-venom. But he wasn't the only one to be bitten," said Pegasus. He rolled up his sleeve and showed them a bandage on his arm. "This was done by a wandering spider. I was fortunate; it was a dry bite, but von Schroeder wasn't as lucky. He will recover, but who's to say that the _next_ one to receive a bite will?"

"You mean me," said Seto.

"I'm just saying to keep your eyes open… and have a can of bug spray on hand," he added. "And a final note about those tarantulas; not only are they diversions, but they seem to be equipped with tiny receivers. I have to return to Industrial Illusions before anything else happens over there, if you'll excuse me."

Seto didn't say a word as Pegasus left.

Mokuba, whose face had paled slightly after hearing what Pegasus said, practically collapsed into one of the chairs.

"You don't think the venomous ones are here already, do you?" he asked.

"If they are, someone's going to hear from me," Seto replied. "But you were mentioning something before Pegasus got here about something you had found?"

"Huh…? Oh, yeah!" Mokuba exclaimed, now recalling why he had come back. "Look at this! Mai said she got it from someone."

He held out the chip fragment, and Seto immediately took it for a closer look.

"This _is_ from our stolen order!" he exclaimed.

"I thought so," said Mokuba. "That's why I brought it back here."

"Where did she say she got this from?"

"She didn't find it; but it was apparently in the performing arts center."

Seto's eyes narrow as he stared at the chip fragment; his mind was already at work, forming a plan. Spiders or no spiders, no one would get the better of him and his company.


	3. Voices

Téa noticed the moment she arrived at the theater that things were not normal. Chrissy the parrot was exceedingly jumpy; the crest of feathers on her head was raised in vexation.

"Of course," thought Téa. "Animals are more in tune to things going awry…"

Despite herself, Téa managed a smile; the raised crest of feathers somewhat reminded her of Yugi's hair. But the moment was short-lived; Chrissy had confirmed that that something was wrong. And now Téa, too, had a bad feeling.

"It'll be OK," she said, more to herself than to the parrot. "We'll get some answers, and soon, things will be back to normal around here. But normal or not, I'll always dance."

And she continued her rehearsal, wondering what the overtime hours would bring.

* * *

"Seto, what are we going to do?" asked Mokuba, pacing around the boardroom. "All we have to help us are Pegasus's warnings, and this one piece of a silicon chip." 

"That's all that I need," Seto replied. "I may as well tell you that I'll be working overtime tonight."

"Here, or at the performing arts center?" Mokuba asked, already having a pretty good idea as to what the answer was. "Seto, you aren't thinking of going over there and searching for the rest of the chips, are you? Because if you are, you're not going to leave me behind!"

"But I have a task for you, as well, my loyal vice-president," Seto replied. "I need you to try to contact Schroeder Corp. and see of Pegasus's story has any truth to it."

"Why wouldn't it?" asked Mokuba. "That was a tarantula that was crawling on my head yesterday, wasn't it? …Or are you saying that you think that _Pegasus_ might be behind it all!?"

"Perhaps. That's why we need to hear Siegfried's side of the story. Pegasus's record with our company isn't exactly spotless; maybe he's the one behind the disappearance of our order," theorized Seto. "And he _did_ contact us a mere hour after the theft."

"I know that Pegasus was after us in the past, but he's helped us out since then, hasn't he?" asked Mokuba. "You have to admit that he's changed since Duelist Kingdom. And when you were possessed by Anubis, he even saved all of us!"

"Or was it all just an act?"

Mokuba sighed; their childhood had succeeded in turning Seto into a cynical, distrusting loner—something that Mokuba often wished that he could change about his brother.

"Is there anyone you trust besides me?" he asked Seto.

"I can't afford to," the CEO replied. "You know as well as I do that I loathe everything there is about our stepfather. That makes it disgusting to admit that he was right about not being able to trust anyone."

"Then why agree with him!?" Mokuba blurted out. "Gozaburo was wrong about everything; I really don't think he was right about this, too. I mean… you _really_ don't believe what he said, do you!? Even after everything that Yugi and the others have done to help us--?"

"If Yugi had never beaten me at Duel Monsters, Pegasus would never have tried to take over Kaiba Corporation in the first place. And we would never have been dragged into any of their ancient nonsense!"

"I don't know, Seto…" the boy replied. "Seems like everything would've happened anyway…"

"We'll never find out now, thanks to them," Seto replied, bitterly. "We'd have been much better off without them."

"Oh, sure; you'd be even colder than you are now…" Mokuba muttered in an undertone.

Seto heard him, but he didn't give any indication that he had done so. But Seto had been temporarily silenced by his brother's words; this wasn't the first time that Mokuba had agreed with Yugi on something.

Mokuba, in the meantime, realizing that he had struck a nerve, decided to change the subject.

"You sure I couldn't help look for the chips?" he asked.

"I want to make a preliminary search of the place alone," Seto replied, but then he relented. "But you have my word that you can come the next time."

"I'll hold you to that!" Mokuba replied.

* * *

The hours went by slowly for the anxious Téa. Her younger protégées had left after their lesson, and now only she and the parrot remained in the theater… or so she hoped. 

But her fears left her as she went back to her dancing. She became one with the rhythm as she fell into a trance; it was the trance that every artist and performer fell into in their moment of concentration. Just as how Yugi used to tap into Atem's spirit and become one with the cards, it was as thought there was another being inside Téa, helping her become one with the dance.

The blissful feeling continued for several minutes until the sound of a slamming door brought it to an untimely end.

The parrot became alert again, her feather crest rising as Téa tried to track the sound. It wasn't easy; her pounding heart was filling her ears, making it difficult to focus on anything else.

She realized that it had been the doors of the main entrance closing; either someone had gone out, or someone had come in. And since Téa knew that she had been alone for the past twenty minutes, it had to be the latter.

Her mind raced. Who was the intruder? Would he come to the auditorium? What would they do if they saw her?

Téa frantically glanced around the stage, searching for a place to conceal herself. But then she paused.

"What am I doing!?" she fumed, furious with herself. "The whole point in staying here was to find out what was going on in the first place! If I end up hiding, Mai will never let me hear the end of it!"

Silently, she slipped out of the auditorium doors and into the lobby. The sound of footsteps came from a side corridor, and Téa followed them, her dancing shoes concealing her presence by preventing footsteps of her own.

She was heading towards the storage area, which consisted of closet after closet of props, set pieces, and costumes. Straining her ears, Téa picked up the sound of low voices, but could not discern what they were saying. She tried following the sound, pausing at every door to see if the voices were coming from within. Her suspicions had been true; someone _was_ using the building after working hours, and she was determined to find out whom and why.

A rattling doorknob nearly made her scream; the intruders obviously had posted a lookout, who was merely yards away from her. The new intruder was now behind her, blocking her path back to the lobby. Téa briefly considered attempting to sneak past the intruder in the hopes that she wouldn't be seen in the dark, but a thin beam of light at the end of the corridor told her that the person had a flashlight, and would spot her for certain.

Téa crept onwards down the corridor, knowing very well that it led to a dead end, but she was desperately trying to evade her pursuer. She sought cover behind a box of costumes that had been left out in the hall. But the approaching footsteps told her that it would only be a matter of time until she was discovered, unless by some miracle, the intruder was distracted.

Despite trying to hide, she was still aware of the low voices; she wasn't even bothering to try to discern them; her main concern was for her own well-being, which was looking grimmer by the moment.

"_Please…_" she mentally pleaded. "_Go away. Just find whatever it is you're looking for and go away--_"

The flashlight beam blinded her suddenly, and she was scared into a state of silence. Her presence was betrayed. She was hauled to her feet as she cringed, not daring to open her eyes.

"Oh, it's _you_…" a familiar voice hissed.

Téa's eyes widened in recognition.

"Kai--!?" she blurted out, and he had to clamp his hand over her mouth to keep her silent.

"_Quiet_!" Seto ordered, in a low but commanding voice.

Neither of them moved. The faint voices she had heard moments before were also silent. Had they heard her?

Seto released her after he was certain that she wouldn't yell again.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her in a low snarl.

Téa glared at him.

"I work here! What's _your_ excuse!?" she countered in a harsh whisper.

"That's no concern of yours," he replied. "And by my guess, it's completely irrelevant now that your little outburst has betrayed our presence!"

"The silicon chip…" Téa whispered, realizing what was going on. "Kaiba, is that why you came here? Did that belong to you?

Seto didn't reply; he turned around coldly and headed back towards the lobby, visibly furious.

"Oh, no you don't!" Téa said, following him. "You're not getting away with your 'ignore-the-dweeb' routine this time, Kaiba!"

"Really?" he asked, bored.

"What's going on here, Kaiba?" she asked, not about to give up. "As a member of this theater, I have a right to know if anything's going on, since it concerns the welfare of me and my colleagues."

"Don't try that with me," Seto replied. "Stick to your dancing and let me handle the real work."

Téa was furious. She was searching for an appropriate retort, but was dissuaded by the call of her name.

"Téa!" called Yugi's familiar voice. "Téa, are you alright!?"

"Where are you?" asked Joey.

"Can you hear us?" asked Tristan.

"Is that you over there?" inquired Mai.

"Yes, I'm over here!" Téa answered, relived that her friends had come to help. "I'm fine!"

"That way!" exclaimed Bakura.

"There she is!" said Duke.

"So you invited the rest of the peanut gallery?" asked Seto, with a roll of his blue eyes. "That's all I needed…"

"Is that _Kaiba_?" asked Joey, in disbelief.

"No, Wheeler, it's the Opera Ghost," Seto replied, his voice oozing with obvious sarcasm.

"That's Kaiba alright…" mused Tristan.

"What brings you down to the theater, Kaiba?" asked Yugi, genuinely concerned about his former rival.

"I'm going to tell the rest of you exactly what I told her," Seto replied. "This doesn't concern any of you, so do me a favor and stay out of it!"

"You can't get rid of us so easily!" said Joey, trying to stand his ground against Seto.

"I can certainly try!" the businessman retorted.

"Let me guess," said Mai. "Those were your computer chip fragments that Téa found, and you're here trying to find more of them?"

"'Those'!?" Seto repeated, and then he rounded on Téa. "There's more than that piece!? Where are the rest of them!?"

"Sorry," Téa answered, coolly. "I'm 'staying out of it'…"

"Don't try me…" Seto growled.

"'I can certainly try'!" she quoted.

"Kaiba--" Yugi began.

"Yugi, don't even bother with another one of your little lectures," Seto replied, cutting him off. "Because I am in no mood to listen to them."

"Now wait a minute!" said Joey, raising his voice just a bit too much. "We're only trying to help--"

He halted at the sound of footsteps coming from behind them, in the direction of the storage area.

"You didn't invite anyone _else_ along, did you?" Seto asked.

The others all shook their heads.

"That's it; I'm gone," fumed Seto, heading out the door.

The others exchanged glances and followed him, with Téa praying that the approaching person would dismiss the voices as a nothing but a figment of his or her imagination.


	4. An Unlikely Alliance

An argument erupted immediately after they had retreated a safe distance away; it was one against seven, but Seto was more than capable of standing his ground against them.

"Thank you all for ruining what would have been a successful search!" Seto snarled.

"Well, who told you to frighten Téa half out of her wits in the first place!?" demanded Tristan.

"And who told the rest of you to stampede in like a herd of elephants!?" Seto countered.

"If you weren't walling yourself off from the rest of the world, this wouldn't even have been an issue!" said Joey.

"Kaiba, listen--" said Yugi, trying to maintain peace.

"Yugi, I already told you save me a lot of time and trouble by just forgetting it. Don't even start. All I want is the return of my computer chips."

"Well, if you must know, the rest of the broken ones are on my desk at home," said Téa. "I don't have a clue where the intact ones are, but they're probably somewhere in the theater."

"And thanks to you, they're out of my reach!" he quipped. "I hope you're all proud of yourselves."

With that, he got into his limo, seething with rage.

"And good riddance!" Joey yelled as the limo drove away.

"He's right, though… I never should've stuck my nose into this," said Téa, slightly disappointed. "I could've gotten him and the rest of you into a lot of trouble, not to mention in danger."

"Don't let Kaiba get to you," said Mai. "You have a right to defend your work, which was exactly what he was doing. Unfortunately, you two just happened to cross paths."

"Yeah, don't bother about it," said Joey. "Kaiba is just being Kaiba."

"Even if he is, I guess I still have to return the rest of those chips to him," Téa replied. "I'll probably get a few more snide remarks for my effort, but at least I'll have done what I had to."

"We'll come with you," said Yugi. "Maybe Kaiba will be more open to accepting our help after he's had a chance to think it over."

"Yeah, maybe after a hundred years…" remarked Tristan.

* * *

"Hey, Seto! How did it… go…?" Mokuba asked, trailing off at his brother's furious expression.

"I accomplished absolutely nothing," fumed Seto, hurling his trenchcoat onto a chair. "First it was Gardner, and then all the rest of them showed up and alerted whoever was in there with our computer chips!"

"You know, in their defense, we never would've found out about the theater if it hadn't been for Mai," said Mokuba. "And I'm sure they were only trying to help…"

"And that's exactly the opposite of what they end up doing!" Seto replied. "And after everything they did, Yugi has the audacity to offer me his help!"

"Let me guess… you declined?"

"Why would I accept when their 'help' is anything but?" asked Seto.

"To prove Gozaburo wrong!" the boy countered.

Mokuba knew that he was striking a deep nerve; it was a card that he rarely, if ever, played, but he feared for his elder brother. There was still that bit of cold cynicism that Gozaburo had instilled in Seto, and Mokuba wanted to see that banished—gone like Gozaburo himself. Unfortunately, it seemed like Gozaburo's last unbreakable grip over Seto from beyond the grave. And though Seto would never admit it, the very memory of their stepfather was one of the few things that could instill fear in him anymore. Fear was a word that no one would ever associate with Seto Kaiba, but that didn't mean that he couldn't feel fear.

"Seto…?" Mokuba asked the now-silent CEO, fearing that he had gone too far by bringing their stepfather into the picture again.

"I'll be fine, Mokuba," Seto replied. "Did you manage to get a call through to Schroeder Corp.?"

"No… I think everyone's trying to get through to them," Mokuba replied. "I was on hold for hours, so I sent them an email. I haven't heard back from them, though."

"In other words, the entire day has been nothing but a colossal waste of time and effort," Seto replied, clearly upset.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No; I doubt that there's anything I can do at this point," Seto admitted. "Hopefully, I can try investigating again tomorrow night, providing that Yugi and his entourage don't ruin things again."

Seto retreated to his room soon after, though he wasn't at all tired. He stepped out onto his balcony and into the crisp night air, trying to clear his head of the many trials and tribulations he had gone through that day. But that was nowhere near as troubling as the thought that was now haunting him: Gozaburo.

Every time he thought that he was finally free of Gozaburo's influence, he would end up discovering some last trace of his stepfather's shadow looming over him. Would he never escape from that hate-filled monster that had tried (and, alas, succeeded) to turn Seto into another creature that dwelled in that same pit of hatred? He had to admit that Gozaburo's darkness was there; it was evident in his cold attitude, his self-centeredness, and his wanton contempt for Yugi and his friends. Perhaps the reason he disliked them was because they never had to feel the loathing that Seto had always known; they just went on with their bright, friendship-filled lives, unable to fathom the cruelties he had experienced.

But did he truly _hate_ them? Dislike was one thing, but Seto was certain that the only one he truly hated was Gozaburo. He would never have even considered helping out that monster (even if he was still here), and yet he had helped out Yugi and the others more than once…

Seto continued to breathe in the night air, though the effect was not as calming as he had hoped; he was still concerned about this new enemy of his company, and now he had to deal with the Gozaburo issue, too. It was a sickening thought—being comparable to the one he most loathed. And even though Alister (albeit in a moment of Orichalcos-induced rage) had compared him to Gozaburo once before, never before had Mokuba pursued the topic like this.

"_Is that how everyone else sees me?_" he thought. "_Am I just a game-creating version of him!?_"

He could just imagine his stepfather's leering image, sneering at him as if to say, "Face it, Seto. You're me. You've become me."

"Never…" Seto vowed through gritted teeth.

With that, he returned to the interior of his room and shut the balcony doors behind him, trying to banish the foul specter.

* * *

The next afternoon, Téa, flanked by Yugi, Joey, Mai, and Tristan, arrived at the Kaibacorp. boardroom, where the brothers had just adjourned a meeting with the company executives (concerning the missing computer chips).

It was Téa who approached him as Joey and Tristan surveyed the leftover food that the executives had left behind.

"You again?" Seto asked, his expression unreadable. "What do you want now?"

"I thought you wanted these back," she said, placing the broken chips on the table.

"Aw, thanks, Téa!" said Mokuba, deciding that he could be grateful, even if his brother wasn't. "Hopefully, this'll help our investigation. Right, Seto?"

"Whatever…"

"And speaking of helping with the investigation--" Yugi began.

"_No_."

"Kaiba--"

"You couldn't possibly help in a situation like this," Seto declared.

"We could try," said Téa.

"No, thanks."

"Kaiba, you're turning down the deal of a lifetime, here!" said Joey. "Where else are you going to find people so willing to help out a rich snob like you!? And for free, too!"

"And what exactly do you hope to gain from all of this?" asked Seto.

"We're not out to 'gain' anything!" said Téa. "Why do there always have to be strings attached!?"

"We want to _help_," said Mai, stressing the word as though she was talking to someone who had never heard of the concept before.

Seto ignored them, going over a stack of invoices in front of him.

"You'd be the one in charge, Kaiba," said Yugi. "We'd be completely expendable."

"And you can deny knowing us at any time, in case we get caught," said Tristan. "Not that we plan to be, of course…"

"Don't you people know when to quit…?" asked Seto, not looking up.

"Alright, fine!" snarled Joey, trying a different tactic. "Go on alone! See if we care! See how far you can get without anyone in your corner! Just try it, Kaiba; I dare you!"

"Finally. I'm glad to see that you're beginning to see the light," Seto countered, not falling for it.

Joey slapped his forehead.

"We've tried being nice, we've tried pleading, we've even tried reverse psychology!" fumed Joey, his patience lost. "For cryin' out loud, Kaiba, what's it gonna take!?"

"I wasn't I team player myself, either," said Mai. "But no one person is an island, and I learned that the hard way."

"You know what? Let's just forget it," said Tristan, in dismissal.

But the others weren't giving up so easily.

"Kaiba, we know you're more than capable of handling this case on your own," said Yugi. "But like it or not, Téa is involved. And because she is, we want to help her. So wouldn't it be more efficient if we were all on the same side?"

"Unless you don't mind dealing with us getting in your way again and again," Téa added, with slight sarcasm.

Seto now exchanged glances with his brother. Mokuba didn't say a word, but his eyes clearly read, "Prove Gozaburo wrong! Show him that you really don't believe in his can't-trust-anyone lie! Don't give him the thrill of victory!"

Seto now pondered over his options. He _could_ prove Gozaburo wrong. And besides that, extra sets of eyes and ears could prove to be useful in the long run. And if they _were_ spotted, they couldn't be connected to him in any way.

"Alright," he said at last. "But the second you get in my way, I'm out."

Everyone stared at him in amazement.

"Did you hear that!?" asked Tristan. "He bought it!"

"Now there's a reason to celebrate!" said Joey, with a grin. "And we can, thanks to this leftover pizza that some kind soul graciously left behind for us!"

"Bell peppers," agreed Tristan, as he and Joey each took a slice.

"Hey!" said Mokuba. "That belongs to one of our… oh, forget it…"

"Well, now that we have our team, we need to develop a plan of action," said Yugi.

"I _know_ I heard people talking somewhere in the storage area," said Téa. "They must be using one of the closets to hide the chips!"

"Then that's where we need to start looking," said Mokuba. "We just need to dip into our company's store of skeleton keys!"

"No, we don't!" said Téa. "As a student choreographer, I have access to the entire theater."

"Then we begin our search at 7:00 tonight," said Seto. "And you'd better be on time, Wheeler, or else we're leaving you behind."

There was no reply.

"Joey?" Yugi asked, as they all turned to look at him.

Joey looked like he was in agony; his face was flushed and sweat was pouring down his face. Tristan was also in a similar state.

"Guys, what's wrong?" asked Téa, concerned.

"Those… weren't… bell peppers," gasped Joey.

"They were… hot peppers!" choked Tristan.

A round of exasperated sighs filled the room

"Hopefully, that will teach you not to freeload food ever again…" said Téa, rolling her eyes.

"Do you think we should tell them where the water cooler is?" asked Mokuba, with a smirk.

"It's right outside the door," Seto replied, deadpanning.

Joey and Tristan stampeded out the door. Their voices could clearly be heard from within the boardroom as they argued over who got first dibs on the water.

Maybe next time, they'll think with their heads instead of their stomachs," said Mai, slightly amused.

"They'd better," Seto informed her, as the argument outside continued.

With that, he returned to his work, hoping that he wouldn't regret his decision to accept their aid.


	5. The Prop Room

Later, Seto had to put up with another call (after his working hours) from the Dronyche Company. Vulsor was on his case again; she was asking for another meeting after receiving more emails.

"It's very strange," she said. "The messages seem to be coming from a private account. Are you sure you haven't had any trouble?"

"I think I'd have noticed," Seto replied, sarcastically.

"Of course. Kaiba Corporation must be so formidable that no one would just rush in and drive you crazy. Every CEO should be so fortunate," she said, wistfully. "Do you think you could upload some of your anti-virus software to the Dronyche Company's network?"

"I don't give out anti-virus handouts!" Seto replied. "If you don't mind, could we discuss this during my working hours?"

"Oh, sorry."

Seto hung up without another word.

"Don't tell me that was that Vulsor lady again…" said Mokuba.

"It was," Seto informed him. "And it's now official: there is someone in the world more annoying than Joseph Wheeler."

"Speaking of Joey, we'd better get to the performing arts center," said Mokuba, checking the time. "It'd look really bad if _we_ showed up late…"

Seto agreed. Kaiba Corporation's only problem at the moment was the theft of the order. And he was determined to resolve it before things got any worse.

* * *

Téa was just unlocking the theater doors when they arrived. The others were already there, Joey snacking on a half-finished spring roll.

"Wheeler, isn't there _any_ hour of the day when you're not stuffing yourself with food?" asked Seto.

"Hey, this is my dinner!" he protested.

"Alright, you two," said Téa. "That's enough. I haven't heard anything yet, but that still doesn't rule out the storage area. The question is… how do we go about our search?"

"We'll need lookouts," said Yugi. "One here at the main entrance, one patrolling the hallway, and one guarding the door of the room we'll be searching."

Duke, Bakura, and Tristan volunteered.

"OK," said Téa. "We'll check out the prop room first; it'd be too easy to hide something in there."

"Wait," said Tristan. "What happens if we lookouts find something?"

"The general procedure would be to relay the find to us," Seto replied, sardonically.

"Very funny. I meant '_how_'? Not all of us are outfitted with state-of-the-art portable technology like certain people!"

"I'm sure you'll think of something," said Yugi, encouragingly. "Hopefully, the thieves won't come back after that scare we must have given them yesterday."

"And hopefully, they left our computer chips behind," added Mokuba.

* * *

"Look at this place!" said Mai, as she glanced around the prop room, mildly impressed. "Don't you guys throw away anything?"

"Not at all," said Téa. "You never know when you'll need a prop for the next show."

"As if there'd be a need for a man-eating plant," Seto said, starting derisively at a large puppet of Audrey II from _Little Shop of Horrors_.

Téa rolled her eyes at him.

"Hey, don't insult the plant yet," said Joey, opening the puppet's mouth. "Ah, never mind, no chips as far as I can see… oops…" he added, as he accidentally dropped his spring roll into the puppet.

"Joey!" chided Téa.

"Sorry…" he said, reaching in the puppet's mouth to retrieve it. He succeeded, but the roll was now covered in dirt and small pieces of hair, and even he had lost his appetite for it. With a disgruntled sigh, he tossed it into the trash.

"Anyone else find anything?" asked Mai, looking through a box of fake jewelry.

"Let's see…" said Mokuba, looking through another box. "A music box… Graf von Krolock's fangs… Macavity's claws… Eliza Doolittle's basket… nothing else…"

"A hipflask… a cauldron… a rose with a black ribbon…" said Yugi, uncovering another box.

"Swords… daggers… and…" Joey froze in mid-sentence, his face pale.

"Joey, what's wrong!?" asked Mai.

"A... a… a skull…" he stammered. "It's someone's skull! The thieves must've done this to the _last_ person who got in their way!"

Everyone stared at the skull that Joey had uncovered, not moving. Seto finally broke the tension by reaching out and picking up the bones.

"It's plastic!" he informed them, hurling the skull at Joey.

"Joey…" said Téa, rolling her eyes again. "We used that skull during our production of _Hamlet_!"

"Oh…" he said, staring blankly into the skull's empty eyeholes.

"Alas, poor Wheeler…" Seto mused.

* * *

Bakura, in the meantime, was patrolling the corridor. He was nervous; during previous dangers, he always had the Millennium Ring on hand. Though he did not in any way enjoy being possessed by the spirit of the ancient thief, he had always considered the ring as a sort of insurance policy. And he had to admit that without it, he felt slightly vulnerable.

He sighed, trying to calm his nerves by thinking up some new tabletop role-playing scenarios when his ears picked up the sounds of voices; they were the same ones that Téa had heard the previous evening.

He froze, not daring to move.

"_Please be Yugi and the others_," he pleaded, silently. But he knew that it couldn't be them; he didn't recognize these new voices. And as a lookout, he realized that he was expected to investigate them.

Bakura crept down the corridor, and was surprised to see that the voices led him not to a door, as he had expected, but to an air conditioning vent. So they _weren't_ using the storage area! He would have to go back and tell the others about this… and yet, he had to at lest try to find out what was being said…

He pressed his ear against the grate, but could only pick up one word: "funnel."

"'_Funnel'_?" he thought. "_Surely they aren't planning for a tornado to hit, are they? Of course not… they're probably funneling money from Kaiba Corporation… Oh, I wish I could hear more…_"

But he could not discern anything else.

* * *

Duke, in the meantime, was outside the theater, beginning to regret volunteering to stand guard. He had wanted action, and, so far, none had arrived.

Bored, he took a die from his pocket and began tossing it up and down to pass the time.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small, black spider crawling up the wall next to him. Repulsed, he struck the arachnid with the die. Stunned, it fell to the concrete, and that was when Duke noticed the red spot upon its abdomen.

"_A black widow_!?" he thought.

He didn't waste another moment; spider met boot an instant later.

Unfortunately, Seto had neglected to mention to him or the others about Pegasus's warning, so Duke dismissed the creature as a normal city denizen, unaware of the sinister truth behind the dangerous chelicerate.

* * *

While Duke was squashing spiders, Tristan had nothing to do at all except stand outside the door of the prop room, waiting for Bakura to take his place. He had wanted a chance to do some patrolling of his own, and he had agreed with Bakura to swap tasks in shifts.

But Bakura had not returned; and he should have been back ten minutes ago.

"_What on Earth could he have gotten himself into now?_" Tristan wondered. "_It's not like he can get possessed again… … … can he?_"

Tristan considered leaving to look for him, but he knew that he couldn't leave the others without a lookout.

"_I'll give him five more minutes_," he decided.

* * *

"This whole 'searching-for-clues' bit would be a little easier if we knew what we were looking for," said Mai. "Are we looking for more computer chips? And exactly how many of them did you lose?

"We lost a dozen boxes of one hundred chips each," Seto replied, pleased that one of them had finally asked an intelligent question. "We were getting ready to try out some new virtual technology to create more realistic simulators and Duel Disks. They were going to be mass-distributed prototypes we would have used customer feedback to make the final alterations. And now, we're severely behind schedule in our projects because of this unforeseen fiasco."

"But if you have the technology, why would anyone else want the chips?" asked Yugi. "Are they trying to use them for their own projects, or are they just trying to give you a difficult time?"

"I'm still trying to figure that out," Seto replied. "So if you find an answer, please enlighten me."

"Well, if Kaiba doesn't know, then what do we know?" asked Mai, in a mock-flattering voice.

Seto glared at her.

"Hey, here's something!" exclaimed Mokuba.

"Did you find the chips?" asked Seto.

"No, but here's one of the boxes that they came in!" the boy replied, showing everyone the address label.

"Yeah, that's your name, Kaiba," said Joey.

"_Really_?" he replied, sarcastically.

"Honestly, Kaiba… Do you ever say a kind word to anyone?" asked Téa. "Or has life disappointed you so much that you've lost that ability?"

Seto glared at her now.

"Perhaps it has," he snarled, so coldly that Téa was taken aback. "Satisfied now, Gardner?"

"That's just sad," she said, with a shake of her head.

He didn't acknowledge her.

"Kaiba, there's so much to look forward to in life," she went on, even though she knew he wasn't listening. "And you're casting it aside for what!? Is it worth being CEO of Kaiba Corporation if your life is going to be so miserable?"

"Aw, just forget it, Téa," said Joey. "He won't listen to you or any of us."

"Kaiba, what does the abandoned box mean?" asked Yugi, trying to change the subject. "Do you think it's from the box that had the broken chips?"

"Possibly," he replied, speaking at last.

"But we've gone over most of this room," said Mai. "If there are a hundred chips per box, we should've found a couple of the intact ones, at least. But we haven't found a single one!"

"I just noticed something," said Téa. "Our carriage is gone!"

"What carriage?" asked Mokuba.

"The one we used in _Hello, Dolly_; it's not here anymore!"

"Maybe someone moved it," offered Yugi. "This place is pretty full, isn't it?"

"I guess…"

"Hey, Téa?" asked Joey. "Were there spiders in _Little Shop_?"

"No. Why?" she asked, as Seto and Mokuba exchanged glances.

"There's a mechanical spider coming out of Audrey II's mouth," Joey replied. "I must've set it off when I was searching for my spring roll in there."

"Wheeler, it's not mechanical," said Seto, glancing at the tarantula that was crawling down the puppet. Spring roll crumbs littered its fur, and it was several times larger than the one that Mokuba had to deal with.

"It's a Goliath Bird-Eater!" yelped Mokuba, who had done some research since Pegasus had spoken to them.

Téa screamed as she caught an eyeful of the largest spider in the world. She and the others backed up against the opposite side of the room, but the creature had spotted them. Its chelicerae gnashed as it approached ever closer.

"Tristan, help!" Téa called, assuming him to be right outside the door.

There was no reply.

"Tristan?" Yugi asked.

"Tristan, quit playing around!" said Mai.

There was still no answer.

"Tristan!" roared Joey. "Get in here!"

"_This_ is why I never bank on anyone else's help!" Seto snarled at the others. "But I guess you'll never learn!"

He took the empty box from Mokuba, and with a well-aimed throw, trapped the large spider under it.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Tristan finally appeared.

"Where were you!?" Joey demanded.

"I was looking for Bakura," he replied. "What happened?"

"Take a look under that box; that should explain everything," Seto replied, coldly.

Tristan was about to, but Téa seized his arm.

"We were attacked by a giant tarantula," she explained. "It's under that box, and I'm willing to bet that it's more than a little upset."

"Why were you off looking for Bakura anyway?" asked Mai. "I thought he was going to be searching the hallway."

"He was going to switch places with me, but he never came back," Tristan explained. "So I went out to look for him."

"Did you find him?" asked Yugi.

"No!" he said. "Bakura's vanished!"


	6. Bakura's Discovery

"OK, there's no need to panic," said Yugi, trying to think of what to do. "Just because we can't find Bakura and that we were attacked by a tarantula doesn't mean that we're…" He trailed off at the look on Joey's face. "Joey? Are you alright?"

Joey was clutching his right hand with his left, his face pale.

"I… I _thought_ I felt something furry when I was reaching for my spring roll…" he said. "What if that goliath got me? What if I've been bitten!? What am I gonna tell Serenity?!"

"If you _had_ been bitten, Wheeler, you would have known by now," Seto replied, with a slight roll of his eyes. "So do us all a favor and calm down."

"I think he's right on this one, Joey," said Mai. "The worst that happened was that you convinced the thing to walk out."

"Well, it's a good thing he did," said Téa. "Who knows…? If someone had been looking through here for props, they could've been bitten. You might have saved someone, Joey…"

"Yeah…" he replied, liking the idea. "Yeah, I guess I did, didn't I…?"

"Speaking of saving, what about Bakura!?" asked Tristan.

"Tristan's right, guys," said Yugi. "We have to find him!"

"OK," said Téa. "I'll unlock the rest of the rooms in this corridor. Hopefully, he just wandered into one of them and got locked in."

But Bakura wasn't in any of them. They had searched the entire corridor, but there wasn't a sign of him.

"Did you find--?" Yugi began, but the others all shook their heads as they convened near the end of the corridor.

"Yugi!?" came Bakura's voice. "Is that you!?"

Everyone looked around, but couldn't see him.

"Bakura, where are you!?" asked Yugi.

"In here!" came the reply.

"Look!" exclaimed Mokuba, pointing to the air vent. The grate was in place, but they could just discern Bakura's voice coming from there.

"Why would he go through _that_?" asked Joey. "Bakura, you in there?"

"Joey?" asked an answering call.

"It's him!" Mai exclaimed. "Bakura, are you alright!?"

"I… I think so…"

"What are you doing in there!?" asked Yugi.

"I heard voices coming from here, so I tried to follow this vent to see if I could find out who it was!"

"It must be the same voices that Kaiba and I heard last night!" said Téa. "Could you figure out what they were saying? Or who it was?"

"No… by the time I got to the end of the vent, they were leaving," Bakura replied. "But I heard the sound of something… I think oars… splashing on water."

"Oars on water?" asked Mokuba, amazed. "Here?"

"Yes! And from what I could see through this vent, there _is_ water here!"

"Is there some sort of secret protocol that states that all theaters must have an underground water source?" asked Seto, with a roll of his eyes. "Next thing you know, he's going to say that he saw a man in a mask wandering down there, playing the pipe organ!"

"I couldn't see anything else, so I tried to backtrack my way through the vent," said Bakura. "But… someone put the grate back in and trapped me here!"

"Just hold on," said Yugi, trying to remove the grate. "We'll have you out in a second… There, I got it! You can go through now, Bakura!"

"Um… actually… I can't…"

"Why not?" asked Tristan.

"I'm… sort of… stuck in here…" he replied, sheepishly.

There was a collective sigh of exasperation.

"Pathetic…" Seto muttered, as the others pulled Bakura from the vent.

"Ew! Bakura, look at you!" gasped Téa. "That goliath we found must have friends that are taking over the theater!"

Bakura was covered in newly-spun spider webs. Small spiders were crawling all over him. With a cry of disgust, he frantically brushed them all off.

"I hope those aren't venomous…" said Mokuba.

"They look like harmless orb weavers," Seto informed him. "But someone left them there and sealed the grate to prove a point--"

"Is everything OK?" asked Duke, running over to them. "I hadn't heard from anyone; what's going on in here?"

"Nothing, assuming that the theater is putting on a show of _Arachnophobia: the Musical_," Seto replied, sarcastically.

"Funny you should mention that…" said Duke. "I just had a run-in with a black widow."

"…Please tell me you aren't serious…" said Joey.

"Hold on a second…" said Yugi. "Duke was outside, Tristan was outside the prop room, and we were all in the prop room, right?"

"Right…" said Mai.

"So… who sealed Bakura in the air vent?"

"No one came in or out," declared Duke. "A few cars went by, but…"

No one said a word; they all cast furtive glances around the corridor, trying to sense if there was a presence of someone other than themselves. But they couldn't sense anything.

"If you're going to tell me that you're backing out, go ahead and leave," said Seto. "But I want to find that room where the vent leads."

"I noticed that the vent was inclined downward," said Bakura. "It must lead to the basement."

"I know how to get there," said Téa. "The question is… what if they're waiting for us?"

"Then they'll rue the day they ever tried to ruin my company," vowed Seto.

"Good, then you can lead the way," said Joey, as they started walking. "But you and Mokuba seem to know a lot about this spider fiasco. What's going on, Kaiba?"

The brothers explained to the rest of them about what Pegasus had warned them about.

"Why would they use spiders to do all their dirty work?" asked Tristan. "They'd be taking a chance, wouldn't they? After all, you guys were able to stop that goliath. And Duke crushed that black widow. There's no guarantee that they'll carry out the mission."

"But think about it," said Mokuba. "Whether they fail or succeed, it's impossible to find out who did it. Siegfried doesn't know who ordered the attack on him, and neither does Pegasus."

"But there might be a way," said Seto. "Remember that the tarantulas are fitted with receivers, or so Pegasus claims. If we go back to the prop room and search that goliath, we might be able to use the receivers to somehow narrow our suspects down. Unfortunately, we may need to wait until that thing is too weak from hunger to fight back. Did you lock the prop room, Gardner?"

"Of course I did," she replied.

"Then when we've finished our search of the basement, we need to go back and find the…"

He paused as they approached the basement door. Téa unlocked it, and the strong smell of mold and mildew hit their nostrils. Even Seto recoiled involuntarily from the pungent odor.

"Gross…" said Mokuba, scowling.

"This is where we store the stuff that we _know_ we're never going to use again," Téa said, her eyes watering slightly from the stench. "And now I know why…"

"Don't breathe too deeply," advised Joey, ordering his stomach not to lurch. "Ugh… let's make this quick…"

And it was down there, in a pile of soggy, moth-eaten fabric scraps, that Seto found one of his packages. It was still unopened, meaning that all one hundred chips were still inside.

"Yes…" he said, with slight satisfaction. With new fervor, he searched for the rest of them, but found nothing.

Yugi found a second unopened box beneath a pile of extra planks. Mai found a third box, but this one had been opened. The chips weren't in their original box, either; this box was slightly smaller than the others, and had been re-sealed with masking tape to close it.

They didn't find any more boxes, but Seto knew that three was better than nothing. Of course, he wasn't about to give up the investigation until he got the rest of them back, as well as bring the perpetrator to justice.

"There're more rooms down here," said Téa. "There's a series of rooms just beyond these… doors…"

She trailed off as she found the double doors sealed together with a thick, rusty chain. A heavy padlock barred entrance to the room, and none of her keys succeeded in opening it.

"I guess this room hasn't been used for years," she said, glancing at the old chain. "The rest of the chips must be hidden somewhere else in the theater."

"But what about the water I heard and saw?" asked Bakura. "I don't know, Téa… there's more to this door than meets the eye."

Seto silently agreed. He didn't care how abandoned the cellars looked; if the search elsewhere came up empty, he would search down here, even if it meant breaking the chains off of the door.

* * *

"You guys, it's nearly one in the morning, and I'm beat," said Joey. "I think we've combed this place enough for now. We can always come back tomorrow night and try again."

"I second that…" said Mai, stifling a yawn.

The others expressed concurring thoughts about the matter.

Seto was not inclined to agree, but he had to admit that if he was going to figure out this mystery, he would need to have his wits about him.

"Alright," he said at last. "I'm coming back here tomorrow at 7:00. Show up if you feel up to it. But we need to get the receiver from that tarantula before we leave; that might be the key to finding out who's behind all this."

They returned to the prop room, which had its door wide opened. The box and the goliath bird-eater were both gone.

"I thought you locked the door!" said Seto, rounding on Téa.

"I did!" she said, coming to her own defense. "They must've had a key, too! So don't go accusing me; I'm only trying to help!"

Seto didn't reply; he was in no mood to argue. He and Mokuba left, followed by the others.

"You know what?" said Joey, as they departed the building. "I just had a thought. I think I found a possible suspect!"

"Really?" asked Seto, not quite ready to believe it.

"Yeah!" Joey said, as Téa locked the doors behind her. "Think about it… it was when the spiders started showing up that all of this insanity started, right?"

"Right," said Tristan.

"So… who's the one duelist out there that we know who lives and breathes bugs?" asked Joey.

"That's not a pretty picture…" said Mai, slightly repulsed.

"Aw, come on, guys! Think about it!" Joey said. "Think short, green-haired, and annoying…"

Yugi's eyes widened.

"Not--" he began.

"You got it!" Joey replied, with a grin. "Weevil Underwood!"

"_Weevil_ trying to ruin Kaiba Corporation?" asked Mokuba, slightly skeptical. "I'll agree he's got issues, but I don't think he has the resources to pull off something like this…"

"Well, you never know," the blond youth replied. "Maybe he's allied himself with some friends who wanted to see Kaiba Corp. on the road to ruin. Maybe they decided to hire him for his knowledge and access to all things creepy-crawly. I wouldn't put it past Weevil to do something out of greed."

"We can check it out tomorrow," said Yugi, giving the idea some thought. "He usually skulks around Clock Tower Park; maybe we can question him and ask him what he knows."

Seto didn't really think too much about the idea; he didn't think Weevil was capable of anything so elaborate, either. He said a curt goodbye to the others, and he and Mokuba got into their limo and left the others behind.

"Well, I've gotta get home before my dad finds out I'm not there," said Joey.

"Will you be OK?" asked Téa, who was now sporting the theater's parrot on her shoulder (she wasn't about to abandon the poor creature to the loose bird-eating spider; as such, she took the parrot along with her).

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he said, disgruntled.

"I can give you guys a lift," offered Mai.

"You sure?" asked Yugi.

"Of course; you'll be needing all of your energy for the case," she said, with a smile.

The others agreed.

* * *

"Well, the day wasn't a total loss," said Mokuba, pleased at having recovered at least some of the chips. He paused, noticing a message on the laptop he had left on the coffee table some time before. "Hey, it looks like Leon finally got back to me! You should read this too, Seto…"

"_I received your email; it's good to hear from you, Mokuba,_" the message read. "_Thanks for your concern about my brother. He's much better; he should be out of the hospital in a day or two. We're still on edge because of what happened; we're worried that it might easily happen again. Pegasus got in touch with me and said that he informed you about what was going on. He had warned us only days before Siegfried had been bitten. Tell your brother to be careful; whoever's behind this has no qualms about what they're doing. There is one clue as to the villain's identity. A Duel Monster card was found on the desk where the spider had been; it doesn't mean much to us, but maybe you or your brother can discern its significance. As such, I sent you a scan of it; I hope it helps to shed some light on this mystery. Take care._"

Mokuba opened the attachment on the message, and the image of the card appeared.

"What!?" yelled Seto.

Mokuba didn't know what to say.

The brothers stared at the card in disbelief. It was a card of Exodia Necross—the favored monster of their stepfather, Gozaburo.


	7. From Bad to Worse

"No way!" Mokuba exclaimed at last. "There's no way that he could be back, right!? He's gone for good; he _has_ to be!"

"I'd be thinking along the same lines if it wasn't for the fact that no one else knew about his fondness for Exodia Necross except for Yugi's crew and the two of us," Seto replied. "But how he's connected to killer spiders is anyone's guess."

"Seto… you don't believe in spirits, right…?" Mokuba asked, cautiously.

"Of course not," he said. "But I wouldn't be at all surprised if Gozaburo backed up his virtual self somewhere. In fact, that might be the only explanation for it."

"Of course he would," said Mokuba, upset at the thought of their stepfather trying to ruin their lives yet again, especially after they were sure he had been truly gone. "He's never going to leave us alone…"

"He must be uploaded to another network… but where…? Where could he hide so that no one would notice him?" Seto asked, his mind racing furiously.

"Maybe someone _has_ noticed him…" said Mokuba. "And they're taking his help."

Seto exchanged a glance with his younger brother.

"Either way, we have to strengthen our network," Seto answered, after giving the matter serious thought. "I will not allow Gozaburo to infiltrate the Kaiba Corporation network again. If he gets through that…" He trailed off, furious, not wanting to finish the thought. The thought of being forced to see that specter or hear that voice again was sickening, though nowhere near as sickening as being compared to him. Was that why he was coming back? Was he that bent on seeing Seto become another cold-hearted tyrant?

"He won't get through it!" Mokuba assured him. "By the time we update our network, even our firewalls will have firewalls! In fact, I'm going to contact the network right now!"

"Right…" the CEO agreed, his mind still stressed over the matter.

Mokuba departed the room, cell phone in hand, leaving Seto to delve into his thoughts.

"Why won't you leave me alone…!?" he muttered to the unseen figure of Gozaburo. "It's already your fault that I'm like this: cold and alone. What more do you want from me!?"

It was a question that he already knew the answer to. He knew that Gozaburo would want Seto to break completely; he wanted him to lose his mind and become the cold, anti-social creature that he had specifically trained and intended him to be.

Gozaburo had always been that way; that was why he had refused Seto the life of a normal child. He never allowed games, TV, fun… and especially friends. Gozaburo had struggled to ensure that Seto never knew what friendship and compassion were. Coldness, cruelty, apathy… those were the lessons that Gozaburo had taught him.

Mokuba had been able to save Seto at first; he had been the only one who treated Seto with kindness, but as Gozaburo grew more and more cruel, Mokuba's kind influence became ineffective. Even after Gozaburo had died, Seto had still been infected with his shadow. It had only been after Yugi had defeated him for the first time that part of that shadow had been banished.

Seto mulled over this. Exodia Necross was the symbol of Gozaburo, and yet it had been Exodia that Yugi had used to defeat him on that day. How typical; two monsters so similar, yet so different… one representing imprisonment, and the other representing freedom.

But was he truly free? Of course not; that was evident in the fact that Gozaburo was haunting him even now, both literally and metaphorically.

He remembered the words that Téa had told him the previous night, when he told her that life had disappointed him.

"_That's just sad…_"

Of course, she was right, though he didn't like to admit it. His situation was pitiful. Here he was, the most powerful and most prestigious man in Domino, and he still had this foul darkness inside of him, flowing through him like poison.

Frustrated, Seto punched the wall. This achieved nothing, of course. There was nothing he could do; he had been trying everything in his power for years. And on his own, he hadn't fully succeeded. Was there no one who would be able to purge him of whatever foul darkness remained in his heart?

"_Of course not…_" he thought. "_If I couldn't, who else could? Maybe I _am_ doomed to live this way. But I'll never go back to what Gozaburo wanted me to be. I won't give him that satisfaction._"

* * *

Yugi had planned to sleep in the next morning after all of the previous night-owling, but he was awakened by his grandfather.

"Yugi, look at this!" Solomon exclaimed, handing him the morning paper.

Yugi hadn't come awake until he read the headline.

"'_Kaiba Corporation Threatened by Unknown Party_'!?" Yugi exclaimed. "'_Valuable Equipment Already Missing; Truth Hidden from the Masses_'!?"

"Can you believe it?" asked Solomon.

"Sure I can; Kaiba let us in on it, but we were the only ones he told," said Yugi, staring at the paper in disbelief. "How did the _Domino Gazette_ find out!?"

"I certainly doubt that Kaiba told them…" said Solomon, with a shake of his head.

Yugi read through the article. There was no mention of the spiders or the performing arts center, but it did go on at length about the missing chips and how the whole fiasco had been kept a secret for the past two days. He searched for the writer of the article, but there was no name; it had either been written anonymously, or whoever the reporter was had refused to write his or her name.

"Oh, no… Kaiba's going to be _livid_ when he hears about this…" said Yugi. "I'd better call the others and tell them to meet me at Kaiba Corp…"

* * *

Mokuba was standing outside Seto's office, a worried look on his face.

"I wouldn't go in there, guys," the boy said, as Yugi and the others approached. "Just listen…"

The thick door was closed, but Seto's angry voice still erupted in full fury; they could hear every word, which was amplified by his rage.

"What do you mean you have no idea!?" the young businessman roared. "Someone let it slip, and you'd better find out whom!"

"Ooh, I pity whoever's on the other end of that telephone call…" said Mai, flinching.

"…Then go LOOK for some answers!" Seto yelled, continuing his conversation. "And don't call back without finding them!"

They distinctly heard the phone handset slam down onto the table.

"…So who wants to tactfully mention meditation or something?" asked Joey.

"Bad idea…" said Tristan.

Yugi slowly opened the office door, and Seto's fierce blue eyes bore right into the group of friends.

"What do you want!?" he snapped, a vein beginning to throb in his neck.

"We just… wanted to see… how you were…" said Yugi.

"How I am!? My company's reputation is at stake, and you decide to parade in for a social call!?" Seto roared, rising to his feet so quickly that the others retreated slightly. "All of you, GET OUT!"

"Kaiba, for goodness' sake, calm down before you make yourself sick!" said Téa, horrified at the young businessman's condition.

"Calm, Gardner!? Trust me; in this situation, this IS calm!"

"Wait a minute!" said Yugi, staring at the boxes of chips that they had recovered, which were on Seto's desk. He picked up one of the boxes; it was the one that had been placed in a different box after the original one had broke. "Look at this!"

"What now!?" Seto fumed.

Yugi flinched, but didn't back down.

"There's part of an address label on this one," he said, calmly indicating it to the furious businessman. "Someone tried to remove it, but there's still the street name on here."

"And your point is…!?"

"Look at the address of the _Domino Gazette_," said Yugi, showing the paper to Seto and the others.

"It's the same street!" exclaimed Bakura. "South Palm Boulevard!"

The revelation had succeeded in quieting Seto at last.

"Besides the paper, what else is on that street?" asked Mai. "Maybe someone else there slipped the message to the paper, or maybe someone who works at the paper is affiliated with the crew beneath the theater."

"I know there's a really good pizza place there…" said Joey. "And there's an open-air café…"

"Don't forget the deli," added Tristan.

"Yeah, and the ice cream shop--"

"Don't you two notice anything except food!?" asked Seto, losing his patience again.

"Psychic!" Joey exclaimed. "There's a psychic's shop there, too; I remember that because Serenity once had her fortune told… The lady who runs it is a medium for hire, she tells fortunes, predicts the future, does matchmaking, and I think she even mentioned something about séances, too."

"Séance!?" asked Mokuba. He exchanged glances with Seto, wondering if the medium had been hired by someone to somehow summon (or at least contact) Gozaburo's spirit.

"Mokuba, séances and psychics aren't real," Seto insisted. "But I'm going to the _Gazette_ and demanding some answers from them right now. Can you take over for me while I'm gone?"

"Sure…" said Mokuba, not sure if it was such a good idea for Seto to demand answers while in this current state.

Seto left, and the others could clearly read the look on the boy's face.

"You don't think he should go alone?" asked Duke.

Mokuba nodded in agreement.

"Alright, then," said Yugi. "One of us will go with Kaiba, while the rest of us head to the park and see what we information we can get from Weevil. So who's going to go to the _Gazette_?"

No one volunteered.

"Not while he's in _that_ rage," said Mai, flatly.

"Téa, you go," said Tristan.

"What!?" she asked, her eyes wide. "Why me!?"

"Because he'd clobber the rest of us," said Duke. "And Mai already called not going."

"Fine! I'll go! Thanks for nothing…" Téa fumed.

"Téa, you're the best," said Yugi. "We'll make it up to you."

"I'll pay for cab fare," said Mokuba. "Tell them to charge it in my name. Thanks Téa; I really mean it."

She merely sighed and left the building.

"She's going to hate us for that…" said Joey. "Not that I blame her… Come on; let's find Weevil."

* * *

Téa arrived outside the _Gazette_ office just as Seto's limo pulled in. He emerged from the vehicle, looking none too pleased to see her there.

"And what do _you_ want from me!?" he asked, immediately.

"Well, _someone_ has to be here to make sure you don't blow your top completely!" she retorted.

"Oh, and when did you suddenly become my governess!?" he snarled. "Don't even try, Gardner!"

"For your information, nothing would please me more than to be back with my friends, where I'm appreciated!" she said, through gritted teeth.

"And I supposed that's your way of saying that you're doing this as a favor to me!?" Seto quipped.

"Well, you're lucky that someone actually would want to help you!" she retorted. "The way you act, I wouldn't be surprised if people would be pleased to see you get what's coming to you!"

"Are you implying that I brought this on myself!?" he demanded.

"Yes, Kaiba, I believe I am!" she said, without giving it a second thought.

She realized immediately that she had gone too far with that one; his eyes blazed with rage and the vein in his neck began throbbing again. But she didn't regret it; it was about time _someone_ told him like it is.

Seto didn't say another word. He turned away coldly and headed inside. Téa followed him in bitter silence, going over all of the places that she would rather be right now than with the one who could be labeled as the "Embodiment of Coldness."

Seto, in the meantime, was aware of her presence, but he refused to acknowledge it. And it was a further blow to him to realize there may have been an inkling of truth to what she had said. If Gozaburo was truly behind this, then he _had_ brought this upon himself; he had brought everything upon himself by convincing that heartless man to adopt him and his brother.

He bit back the cry of frustration and rage as the sneering image of his stepfather returned to his mind. Gozaburo would be celebrating, wherever he was, if he could see Seto like this.

"I'm winning, Seto…" the image taunted. "So prepare yourself; it's only going to get worse for you!"

Seto struck the nearest wall again. Téa jumped, startled, but didn't say another word.


	8. Another Clue Found

"Hey, Weevil!" Yugi said, cheerfully, trying to act cordial towards the green-haired duelist. "How are you doing?"

"Why would you care?" he snarled in reply, obviously in no mood to chat.

"Actually, Weevil, we were wondering--" Yugi went on, but he was cut off by Joey.

"Don't bother trying to be nice, Yugi," he said, trying to stare Weevil down. "Awright, Weevil, we know what you're up to, so you may as well confess!"

Weevil stared at Joey as though he had lost his mind.

"You aren't getting through, pal," said Tristan. "Try the direct route."

"Guys…" Yugi began, trying to stop them before they got carried away,

"Just save us all of this trouble and tell us what you know about the spiders!" Joey said, trying to follow Tristan's advice.

"What spiders!?" Weevil asked, thoroughly confused.

"Don't play dumb!" said Duke, trying his hand at the interrogation. "Who else would be sending spiders to attack us and Kaiba!?"

"How dare you!?" the duelist fumed.

"Wait, wait; we're not trying to accuse you," lied Yugi, desperately trying to maintain order. "We were just wondering if you knew anything--"

"How dare you accuse me of associating with spiders!?" Weevil fumed.

"Huh?" asked Mai, blankly. "But you're the resident bug duelist; we thought--"

"I'm an _insect_ duelist, not some any-and-all-arthropod duelist!" Weevil retorted, his pride wounded. "Spiders eat insects! They are my sworn enemy! I would never associate with anyone who dealt with spiders!"

He proceeded to go on a rant about the differences between insects and arachnids. Joey, Tristan, Duke, Bakura, and Mai all found their excuses to leave. Yugi stayed behind for a little while, just to be polite, but sought the first chance to escape when Weevil looked away for a split-second.

"So…" asked Yugi, as he caught up with the others. "Can we dismiss Weevil from being a suspect? I think we'd better leave him alone for a while"

"I don't know…" said Mai. "I mean, sure… he seemed annoyed that we thought that spiders were insects, but that doesn't mean that he knows nothing about them. He could be helpful later on… in case we're ever in the need of anti-venom or something in the future…"

"I really don't see him helping us after all of our accusations," said Bakura.

"Yeah; whose idea was that?" asked Joey.

All eyes turned to him, and he grinned, sheepishly.

"I hope Téa's having a better day than we are," said Yugi.

"With Kaiba? I doubt it…" said Tristan, with a shake of his head. "We owe her big…"

* * *

Meanwhile, Téa was thinking similar thoughts.

"_This has got to rank as one of the worst days of my life…_" she thought, glaring furiously at Seto, who was still in front of her, still ignoring the fact that she was even there.

She ended up following him to the outer office, right outside the editor's door. The door was closed and locked, but Seto wasn't about to give up so easily. He noticed a young woman, absorbed in the latest edition of the paper.

"Where's the editor?" he asked, brusquely. "I need to speak to him."

"You just missed him; he just stepped out," the young woman replied. "Can I help you with something? I'm the assistant editor."

"You could help by telling me where the editor went," said Seto, annoyed.

"He never tells _me_ anything," the young woman replied. "I know he has a second job somewhere, though. He's hardly ever here; my fiancé says I should just promote myself to editor. Are you sure I couldn't help you?"

"Actually, yes you can," said Téa, getting an idea.

"What are you doing!?" Seto asked in a harsh whisper.

"Stalling her while you get a chance to nose around," she retorted under her breath. She turned back to the assistant editor. "I'm with the local performing arts center, and I'd like to have a little promotional ad for our upcoming recital in a couple weeks. My friend here will be paying for it."

She couldn't resist, and she struggled not to laugh at the look that quickly crossed Seto's face.

"_Laugh now, Gardner; I'll be sending you the bill_," he thought, choosing to keep silent.

"Do you think I could see the size of available advertising space?" asked Téa.

"Sure!" the assistant editor replied. "Come with me; I'll show you our samples…"

She and Téa left the room, which gave Seto the opportunity to use one of his skeleton keys to open the door to the editor's office. A quick scan of the room caused his gaze to fall upon a hastily written note on the editor's desk.

"_I don't know where those kids ran off to; the one in the vent somehow escaped, and our goliath was trapped. I went to get the remaining boxes in the cellar, but they were gone. Go ahead and publish something about Kaiba; I don't care what you say, but make him look as bad as possible. Hopefully, he will be too busy keeping a good name for his company and stop snooping around. Of course, knowing that proud peafowl, he's still going to try and stop me. But if he ruins this operation any further, that shaggy-haired fool will rue the day he ever became the head of Kaiba Corporation! He won't escape me!_"

Seto could feel his blood pressure rising with every word he read. So, the editor of the Gazette was somehow affiliated with the one trying to ruin him? Well, he wasn't about to stand aside and watch his world come apart at the seams; he would fight until the bitter end.

He heard footsteps as Téa and the assistant editor returned. Seto slipped out of the room and closed the door again, still seething with anger.

"Well, I'll think about it and get back to you on which one I choose," said Téa, with a smile.

"Alright!" the other girl replied with a smile. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No; we're good," Téa began, but Seto wasn't about to give up.

"Where exactly does the editor work for his second job?" he asked. "I still would like to talk to him."

The assistant editor shrugged.

"If it's that important, could I take a message?"

"No; don't bother," Seto replied, and he left the office, leaving the girl very confused. Téa glanced at her apologetically and followed him.

"What is your problem!?" she asked, as he seemed angrier than ever. "Don't tell me your search came up empty!"

"Of course it didn't come up empty!" said Seto, turning back, angry. "How inefficient do you think I am, Gardner? I found out quite a bit, like how the editor is actually a close friend of the mysterious chip thief!"

"Then what's the problem?" she asked, unable to fathom the young man's anger.

"Something that you would never understand," he retorted. "And even if you could, you'd probably say that I deserved it, too!"

"Well, when you're right…" she said, dismissing it.

Seto had half a mind to tell her right then and there about everything that he had been going through… how Gozaburo was probably back, and how she could never understand what torment he had been through… how all of her friendship lectures didn't hold up against what the cruel man had drilled into his brain… … … how he was beyond all help…

Téa paused; she could sense that he was yearning to retort back at her, but for some reason could not.

"Just leave me alone, Gardner," he said at last, in a tone quite unlike his usual air of superiority.

Now she was beginning to feel guilty. Why had she said all of those things, anyway? It was quite unlike her to be nasty towards anyone, and she would have thought that Seto Kaiba would have ignored it anyway.

She followed him in silence, still feeling as though she didn't quite owe him an apology; after all, he had been the one to lose his temper first.

They had walked out into the sunlight when a strangely-attired woman waved them over from outside one of the shops. Seto wasn't interested, so she walked over to them.

"Dear boy, I see it plain as day, written on your face," she said. "You are being haunted by a spirit, are you not?"

Seto froze.

"_Impossible_!" rationality hissed at him. "_Any fool could see that you're having a bad day; leave it to someone to blame it on a spirit!_"

"I take it that you're the psychic who owns the shop on this street?" asked Téa.

"Very good, my dear!" she said, handing her a card. "In the trade, I am known as Madame Mystíca, medium for hire." She cast a concerned glance at Seto. "I'm afraid that your poor friend is being driven mad by a spirit."

Seto's eyes narrowed, and Téa cast an apprehensive glance at him

"Um…" she said. "I don't think he…"

"Oh, it's quite alright, my dear," said Mystíca. "We can't all be believers, now can we? But perhaps we could help you out all the same, Mr. Kaiba. Perhaps if we gathered some of your friends and held a séance, we could determine exactly what this spirit wants from you."

"No thanks," Seto replied.

"Ah, and I see you are concerned with someone referring to you as a 'proud peafowl' and a note that this person wrote?"

The effect was immediate; Seto's eyes flared, and he had to consciously keep himself from yelling again, and Téa had to bite her lip to prevent him from seeing the slightly amused smile she was fighting back.

"What do you know about that!?" he demanded.

"I know what your star tells me," she said. "Antares of Scorpio tells me much about you."

"Then do me a favor and tell Antares to leave me alone," Seto replied, heading for his limo.

It took Téa a second to realize that she had no way back to the theater.

"Kaiba!" she yelled, running after him. "Kaiba, you can't leave me stranded out here!"

"Can't I…?" he asked. "I don't recall asking you to come along. I guess you 'brought it upon yourself'…"

She glared at him, and he relented, deciding that he may as well take her back in exchange for having created the diversion he needed to find out about the _Gazette_ editor.

They didn't say a word to each other at all during the ride; Téa was staring out the darkened window, furious. She wasn't sure if Seto really would have abandoned her, but it wouldn't have surprised her if he had done so. The only one he showed any concern for was Mokuba. If it hadn't been for the fact that the theater was involved in this case, he never would have accepted help. And even then, he was determined to make it seem as though he was the icon of generosity by allowing them to serve his vast corporate kingdom.

"_Why are we even bothering with trying to help him at all?_" Téa asked herself. "_He doesn't want friends. He lives alone, and he's probably going to die alone. Who are we to stop him?_"

She caught herself; now she was further annoyed with him.

"_Why do you always have to bring out the worst in me, Kaiba!?_" she asked him, silently, now glaring at him. "_Just listen to me… I'm starting to sound like __you__…_"

Needless to say, she was happy to finally get out of the limo. She gave him a very forced "thanks," which he didn't even acknowledge. She then proceeded to prepare for rehearsal, taking a few minutes to call Yugi.

"Weevil didn't tell us anything useful," he informed her. "How'd it go at the _Gazette_?"

"As good as can be expected with _him_ around," she said. "But I got this business card of the psychic that Joey mentioned. She knew who Kaiba was without him mentioning it, though I doubt that had to do with her powers… _everyone_ knows who Kaiba is…"

"Yeah, you're right," Yugi agreed. "So, will we be meeting up with you tonight again for more searching?"

"Sure," she said. "Even if Kaiba shows up, at least you guys will be there to keep me company. Yugi, can you please tell me why we're helping him when he doesn't even care about what happens to us?"

"I think Kaiba's just confused…"

"Well, I wish he'd stop confusing me; it's times like these he pushes me over the edge!" Téa fumed. "Yugi, if I ever have to put up with him again, I can assure you, I'm going to lose it completely! See, look! I'm going on again! Have you ever seen me in a state like this!? He's the only one who drives me to it!"

"Don't worry, Téa; we're with you."

"Thanks," she sighed. "Because I can tell that it's going to be another one of those days." She hung up, viewing the upcoming investigation with apprehension.


	9. When it Rains, it Pours

Seto, in the meantime, was on his way back to Kaiba Corporation when his cell phone rang. He was unpleasantly surprised to discover that the caller was none other than Miss Vulsor.

"I thought you said you had everything under control!" she said. "So you _are_ having trouble, too?"

"I do not wish to discuss it," Seto retorted.

"Well, there's something I need to discuss; I'm in even worse trouble," she said. "Drive by my company headquarters, and you'll see what I mean. And from what I'm seeing on the news, you're having the same problem right now."

"What are you talking about?" asked Seto, annoyed. "Kaiba Corporation doesn't have any problems; we've already retrieved a portion of our lost equipment, and I, for one, resent the implications of your statement…"

He trailed off as he noticed an angry mass of people crowding around outside the Dronyche Company building.

"I see your limo through the window, Mr. Kaiba," she said, over the phone. "I told you there was a problem. I can't even leave the building for fear of what they're going to do."

"And there's a similar crowd outside of my company, too…?" he asked, through gritted teeth. "What exactly is their problem!?"

"I gathered that they aren't pleased with what we're doing in the games division, though I can't imagine what on earth is angering them."

"_Can this day get any worse…?_" Seto asked himself.

"I'd invite you in for a conference, but I don't think you'd make it past the crowd," Vulsor went on. "Perhaps you should find a way back to Kaiba Corporation and try to regain some control over there."

"I am sure Mokuba is already regaining control even in my absence," Seto informed her, though, in reality, he wasn't sure how his brother would be dealing with the situation. "But maybe I should return--"

He was cut off as the crowd outside the building noticed his limo. Several members of the crowd were now running towards the idling vehicle, intent on having their voices and complaints heard.

"Drive out of here!" Seto ordered his chauffeur. "Now!"

The limo drove off, leaving the disgruntled crowd behind.

* * *

Even though Mai knew that Téa had already received a ride to the theater, she still decided to investigate the boulevard to take a look at things for herself. The majority of the shops were either for food or small novelties. Only the _Gazette_ headquarters and the psychic's shop stood out.

"Window shopping, are we, my dear?"

Mai turned around to see Madame Mystíca.

"Oh… I guess," Mai replied.

"You know, you're not first to pass by my shop today," the psychic commented. "The stars seem to be especially active today."

"Isn't that always the case?" mused Mai, trying to act like she actually knew what the psychic was saying.

"You needn't pretend, my dear," said Mystíca. "Now, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Not at all," said Mai, though in the back of her mind, she was recalling some of her less-than-perfect choices during the time she had worked for Dartz.

"The beauty of being a psychic is to be able to see the different auras that people have," said Mystíca. "Sometimes a dark past can give way to the brightest of futures."

Mai didn't know how to reply to this. Either she was too obvious in her regrets, or this psychic was the real deal.

"And… my aura is one of those?"

"Auras and stars tell so much about a person; even the secrets and intentions that they try to conceal," the woman replied. "I can tell that you are wary of me, much like the young man who was here earlier. Though he was more disbelieving and distrusting than anything else…"

"Um… maybe I'd better go…" said Mai, not exactly keen on the idea of her aura divulging too much.

"Your intentions are honorable, my dear; don't be upset!" said Mystíca. "You seek to aid your friends, and trust me when I say that they are fortunate to have you as their friend again."

Mai nodded and left. It was strange… she wasn't sure what to make of the psychic. It wasn't every day that one came across someone who was so friendly and spoke in such kind words, and yet seemed so intimidating.

* * *

"That's it!" roared Seto, as he caught an eyeful of the crowd outside his office building. "I've had more than I can take today; I am not allowing this to go any further! Let them try to do whatever they want!"

"Sir, maybe you should…" the chauffeur began, but decided that it was prudent to keep quiet as Seto stormed from the limo.

The crowd, although irate, didn't seem to resist as Seto forced his way through. But they were still screaming complaints at him.

"You owed us the truth!" shrieked a woman.

"Gozaburo would never have done such a thing!" added a man.

"Gozaburo wouldn't even have put himself in this situation!" agreed another.

"We would have been better off with Gozaburo!" added another man. "Gozaburo was a better man than you!"

Seto had to bite back the retorts; the public never knew about Gozaburo's true nature. All they had heard was the story of how Seto had managed to "weasel" the company away from him, driving Gozaburo to madness. And he certainly didn't see the need to defend himself against a crowd that was just as crazy as Gozaburo was.

"We _were_ better off with Gozaburo!" a second woman exclaimed. "He never would have wasted time with foolish, petty games and then spinning a web of lies when things go wrong!"

It wasn't the insult that got Seto's attention; it was the metaphor of the web. Could it be that one of the members of this crowd was, in fact, the one plotting against him?

Seto tried to hide the fact that he was suspicious; he continued to ignore the snarling crowd as he entered the building.

"Seto!" Mokuba exclaimed, running over to him. "Oh, thank goodness… Well, you can see we have a bit of a situation on our hands…"

"How long have they been there?" Seto asked.

"About an hour," the boy replied.

"We were reluctant to call crowd control until we were certain of your whereabouts, Mr. Kaiba," explained Roland. "With your permission, we can call them."

"Granted," the young man replied, retreating to the sanity of his office. Mokuba followed close behind.

"So what did you find out at the _Gazette_?"

"You sent Gardner after me, didn't you?" Seto asked his brother.

Mokuba looked away, trying to come up with a reply.

"Never mind, little brother," Seto went on. "She gave me the diversion I needed." He went on to explain his findings.

"Really!?" asked Mokuba, after Seto told him everything (minus the huge argument with Téa). "I bet whoever wrote that note is somewhere in that crowd!" He crossed to the window to see the crowd finally dispersing as security arrived on the scene. "But there's still one thing I don't get. I know that someone's trying to ruin our company, but what kind of grudge does the _Gazette_ editor have against us to go along with the whole idea?"

"My guess is that they're getting paid royally," Seto replied. "Meaning that whoever's doing this to us has a lot to gain from our ruination."

"But it's not just us," Mokuba reminded him. "Remember what Pegasus said? They probably want control over all of the gaming companies."

"They'll get Kaiba Corporation over my dead body," Seto vowed.

Mokuba was reluctant to voice what he was thinking: that their unknown enemy may be planning just that.

"So…" the boy said, trying to change the subject. "Are we going to investigate the theater again tonight?"

Seto's eyes narrowed slightly. He wasn't looking forward to having another spat with Téa, but decided that he could keep his distance from her. After all, stopping this insanity (and retrieving the rest of his computer chips) was the main concern now.

"Of course..."

* * *

"Miss Gardner?" asked one of the young dancers-in-training. "Can you show me my steps again?"

"Certainly!" Téa replied, with a smile. "Now, remember to be confident, OK, Sara?"

The girl nodded enthusiastically in reply.

"Now, watch… start with your dominant foot, and follow the music…"

"Me next! Me next!" exclaimed another young dancer, as she watched Téa perform the steps.

Soon, all of the dancers were asking Téa to help teach them, but she didn't mind; if she could help them follow their dreams, then it would be worth it. They were progressing through the middle of their lessons when a loud crashing sound seemed to come from beneath the stage.

The girls screamed.

"It's a thunderstorm!"

"It's an earthquake!"

"It's a _monster_!"

"No, no…" Téa said, softly, trying to calm the dancers. "It's OK; everything's OK. They must be moving things down in the basement."

It was a white lie; she knew very well that it was the thieves at work. She had offered special lessons that day, Friday, when the theater was normally closed in the afternoon. She had expected the thieves to get to work in the evening hours, but she didn't think that they would have started in broad daylight. She knew that she had to get the dancers out of the theater.

"You know, girls, why don't we leave it at this today? We'll continue on Monday; how does that sound?" she asked, trying to conceal her nervousness.

The girls all agreed, and after a few phone calls home, they were on their way out as their parents arrived.

"Miss Gardner…?" asked Sara, in a small voice. "Are you scared, too?"

"I'll be fine," she promised her.

Sara smiled.

"Yeah, you're always so brave!" she exclaimed. "Oh… my parents are here. Bye, Miss Gardner!"

She ran out the doors, and soon the others left.

"_Oh, Sara, if I was braver, I would have solved this mystery by now…_" Téa thought. "_But I have to wait for everyone else to show up and help…_"

And so she waited, as Yugi arrived with the others. The Kaiba brothers arrived soon after, and neither Seto nor Téa said so much as a word to each other.

"I hard something huge crash in the basement," she announced, as she led them down there. "Actually, my students heard it, too. I knew it had to be something huge…"

She trailed off, as they stared at the old set of double doors. Previously, they had been locked and chained up, as though untouched in years. But now the heavy doors had been forced off of their hinges, and the doorway was now wide-open.

"You were right, Téa; it _is_ huge…" commented Joey.

"This is either a huge coincidence, or a trap," declared Mai. "I don't think we should all go in there."

"She's right," said Yugi. "We can cover more ground if split up, anyway. What's they layout of the theater like, Téa?"

"Well, there's the rest of the basement, which we already searched yesterday," she said. "The ground floor doesn't have much, other than the storage areas that we already searched, but there's a second floor that leads to the higher seats in the auditorium. And there's a floor above that, where the offices are."

"OK, then," said Yugi. "Duke and Bakura, can you guys check the top floor?"

"Sure thing," Duke affirmed.

"Tristan, Mai, and Mokuba, can you three search the auditorium?"

They nodded.

"Kaiba, can you…?" he stopped, looking around. "Where's Kaiba?"

"He… went in there while Téa was talking…" said Mokuba, pointing to the gaping doorway.

"Oh, no…" said Yugi. "Téa, I think you, Joey, and I are going to have to follow him."

"Terrific…" she said, with a roll of her eyes.

"OK, at least one member of each team has a cell phone, but keep them on silent," Yugi instructed. "Just in case something comes up, we may need to contact the other teams."

The others nodded and headed back upstairs, as Yugi, Joey, and Téa entered the old hall, which reeked of even more mildew than the main basement.

"Kaiba?" called Yugi.

"I didn't recall asking for an entourage," Seto's voice replied.

"Well, like it or not, we're here," said Téa. "And personally, I'm inclined not to like it."

Seto ignored her, scanning the corridor with his flashlight as they progressed into the old basement.


	10. Down Once More

Téa had given Duke and Bakura the necessary keys as they searched the top floor. Each office looked the same: posters of old productions covered the walls, old programs filled the shelves, along with music and scripts, and the desks themselves were neatly maintained.

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary here…" said Bakura, aiming his flashlight around the desk.

Duke picked up the nearest file.

"Yeah, I think we got cheated out of all of the action again," he said. "Everything's in order here; I doubt anyone involved in the theater would be a part of it. And I think Téa might be the only one here who's even aware of what's going on… hey! Speaking of Téa, listen to this!"

"What is it?" asked Bakura, looking up.

"It's the cast list for this summer's production of _The Sound of Music_; Téa's been cast as Maria!"

"Good for her! Goodness knows she could use a bit of good news for a change!"

"You know, you would've been a shoo-in for a role; you should have auditioned!" said Duke.

Bakura glared at him.

"What? It was a compliment…"

Anyway," said Bakura, moving on. "I think you're right about nothing being here; we've already searched through--"

He was cut off as a snow globe fell from the desk. Duke managed to save it before it hit the ground.

"Watch it, will you?" he asked, annoyed.

"I didn't touch it!" Bakura protested.

"Oh, so it jumped off of the desk on its own?" asked Duke. "I bet Kaiba would have something to say about that--"

"It was him!" Bakura exclaimed, pointing to a large tarantula crawling across the desk. "I think it's the same goliath bird-eater that the others found last night! …You know, my father, after one of his travels, once mentioned that these spiders, if prepared properly, can be roasted and eaten…"

Duke stared at Bakura.

"Please tell me he wasn't speaking from experience…" He glanced back at the arachnid. Without taking his eyes off of the creature, he grabbed a large book on stage movement and took careful aim.

"Hold on!" said Bakura, stopping him. "You'll smash the fiber optics, too; Kaiba will be furious."

"So what do you want me to do?" asked Duke, with an air of sarcasm. "Distract it with a chicken wing while we get the fiber optics off of it? Or maybe we should try your dad's idea and try to barbeque the thing?"

"Look, all I said--"

"Hold that thought," ordered Duke, as the spider leaped off of the desk and scuttled out the door. Book in hand, he went after it.

"Duke, wait!" Bakura said. "I told you, you'll smash the--"

THUD.

"Why do I even bother…?" Bakura asked, with a sigh.

"I'm sure Kaiba can figure out what's what," Duke said, coming back into view with a small network of wiring.

"For your sake, I hope so…"

"Never mind," Duke went on. "Anyway, after searching up here for hours, all we found was this. Think you can take me back to where you found that water source yesterday?"

"Through the air vent, you mean?" asked Bakura.

"No, by the pier," he replied, sarcastically.

* * *

"I'm sure the auditorium wouldn't have anything on normal days," said Mai, as she searched the aisles. "But the next production isn't for a while, so this might be a place to hide something…"

"Nothing in the upper seats!" called Tristan, his voice coming from above. "Think that chandelier would hide something?"

"Doubt it… judging by the way things have been going, I'd have expected the thieves to send it crashing," said Mokuba, who was inspecting backstage. "Hey, I think I found something!"

In a matter of minutes, the others joined him as he tried to pry a panel loose from the wall.

"I think it's hollow behind this," he said. Sure enough, the panel finally slid open, revealing a cobweb-laden passageway.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up," said Tristan. "This _is_ backstage, after all; I bet it's just a passageway to allow for entrances and exits from the green room or something."

"Then why has it clearly been unused?" asked Mai, indicating the layer of dust on the floor.

"That means that the thieves don't know about it, either!" said Mokuba, intrigued. "What are we waiting for?"

"Wait, I don't think that it's a good--" Mai began, but the boy had already run into the passageway. She exchanged glances with Tristan, shrugged her shoulders once, and headed into the passageway herself. "Just watch your head when you come in, Tristan; the ceiling's a little--"

"Ow!"

Mai flinched at the sound.

"You OK back there, Tristan?" she asked.

"Oh, sure…" he said, massaging his head.

* * *

"Hey, Téa, just how old is this place, anyway?" asked Joey, after another cloud of dust made him sneeze. "It certainly seems ancient…"

"Well, I know that the theater has been in operation since the '50s," recalled Téa. "But the building itself is actually a lot older. It was originally used by a metal smith's family for a few generations, where they made swords, armor, household objects, and all sorts of things; in fact, some of the props you saw yesterday were made by them! I guess his family built all of these passageways and rooms. But as the demand for products lessened and lessened, the last owner got more and more bitter. He was forced to sell the building to the theater company, who renovated it to what we see here today… I guess they never knew about everything here. But I'm not surprised; the previous owner hated himself and everyone involved for being driven to sell. He wouldn't have wanted to tell anyone his family secrets…"

"And let me guess…" said Seto, sarcastically. "His restless spirit is somewhere in this theater, haunting it, and sending tarantulas after us?"

"If that's true, Kaiba, he might be ready to blame you for putting him out of business," said Joey. "Think about it… if he made all of those swords and armor, he'd blame your stepfather's machines for the decrease in demand. And that mean's he's going to be after you."

"And does it look like I care, let alone believe in restless spirits anyway?" Seto asked.

"Madame Mystíca sure does…" Téa said. "I wonder if that was the spirit she saw haunting you…"

"There _is_ no spirit haunting me!" Seto retorted.

"Hold everything!" ordered Yugi. "Kaiba, can you aim the flashlight a little bit forward? I think I see something…"

"Yeah, it looks like… footprints?" asked Joey, a bewildered look on his face, as the footprints were clearly visible in the deep dust. "Téa, I thought you said nobody knew about this place…"

"Obviously, Wheeler, someone does," said Seto. "And by the looks of it, it's not a ghost."

"Sarcastic, but true…" said Téa. "But have you noticed that there are other passageways coming off of this one? I don't see footprints there… which makes me wonder--"

Joey sneezed again.

"Why is there so much mildew!?" he blurted out, scowling at the reeking smell. "I thought you needed water for mildew; there's only dust here! So where's the water coming from?"

"Remember what Bakura said yesterday about hearing water and oars?" asked Yugi. "I bet we'll find out answers soon enough."

"Or… not…" said Joey, as the footsteps led them to an empty room. But that wasn't the oddest thing; the footsteps were clearly marked until the middle of the room, and then they vanished. "Well, Kaiba, what does the skeptic's mind have to say about this?"

Wordlessly, Seto reached into the dust and pulled up a trapdoor. A thick rope was attached to a metal ring just beneath the door.

"Why am I not surprised…?" he commented, as he glanced at the dust on his fingertips. "This dust isn't what it seems to be… It looks like flour mixed with powdered concrete…"

"You mean the dust is fake!?" asked Yugi, kneeling down to inspect it. "But everything looks so old here… and there was only one set of footprints… are you sure of this, Kaiba?"

"And what exactly would be the benefit of my making it up?" Seto asked. "They used flour to give it the same thickness as ordinary dust and concrete to give it the gray look."

"Why would anyone bother trying to cover their trail with fake dust!?" asked Téa, bewildered. "And especially when they left this trail of footprints?"

"I hate to say it," said Seto. "But between their obvious noise and this set of footprints, it's clear that they _want_ us to go through this trapdoor."

"So… are we?" asked Téa.

Seto glared at the open doorway, as it seemingly taunted him. He knew that the remainder of his lost equipment would be there waiting for him… and so was a more-than-likely trap. But he wasn't helpless; he could hold his own, just as he had on several occasions in the past.

"I'm going to take a look down there alone," he declared. "But I suppose it's pointless to tell you all to stay behind."

"Completely pointless," agreed Yugi.

Seto rolled his eyes, and, one by one, they descended down the trapdoor.

"Well, Joey, there's your water source…" said Téa, her eyes wide, as some sort of deep, lake came into view before them, its water flowing slightly. "Oh, and look! It's our carriage from _Hello, Dolly_—the one that we couldn't find yesterday! It's on the other side of the lake!"

"I guess this _does_ account for the severe case of mildew…" said Yugi. "But how is this possible? How can water get down here?"

"Actually, it's not impossible when you consider that this is a seaside town, with most of it situated below sea level," said Seto. "It'd be too easy for groundwater to find its way in here. And, as evidenced here, it has. Every time the tide comes in, it feeds this lake. I expect that it gets larger every day. And our thieving friends decided to take that carriage to use as a boat."

"Seto!" a voice exclaimed. A panel had opened, and Mokuba, Mai, and Tristan appeared.

"We've got to stop meeting like this…" said Duke, as he and Bakura arrived via the air vent.

"Now that's interesting…" commented Yugi. "Three different groups, and yet we all ended up in the same place."

"Oh, and we saw that goliath from yesterday," added Bakura. "Duke made short work of him, though."

"That's right," he said, tossing the smashed electronics to Seto. "Hope that helps in some way…"

"This would have been far more useful intact…" Seto informed him, staring derisively at the useless equipment.

Bakura gave Duke a glance that clearly said, "I told you so…"

"Well, then!" said Joey. "Since we're all here, why not forge into the waters and find out what they're hiding down here?"

He was answered with a hoard of flashlights appearing from the other side of the water. The lights were too bright and too numerous to discern who was on the other side, and it didn't help that the eyes were shining right in their eyes, reducing their vision.

"Back the way you came!" called Yugi.

Bakura tried to jump up to reach the air vent, but decided against it, and followed Duke, who was already following Mai, Mokuba, and Tristan back through the sliding panel. Seto, Téa, Yugi, and Joey clambered up the trapdoor rope.

The sound of oars told them that the thieves were, in fact, pursuing them.

"_I knew they were waiting for us…_" Seto thought, furiously. "_I should never have let Yugi and his crew to follow me. The only possible consolation is that I now know where to go tomorrow. And this time, I'm going in alone. And I have to bank on the fact that the thieves won't be expecting anyone to return so soon._"

Both teams made it out of the theater. Téa didn't even bother trying to lock the doors this time; there was no telling how close behind the thieves were.

"Where do we go now?" asked Téa. "We can't afford to have them following us and finding out where we live!"

"The psychic's shop!" exclaimed Mai. "We can hide there until it's safe."

Seto wasn't too keen on the idea; not only was he a nonbeliever, but he was convinced that the psychic was somehow connected to the very thieves that they were trying to escape from. How else had she known about the contents in the letter he had seen on the _Gazette_ editor's desk? The only way would be if she was the one who had sent the letter in the first place. Given the fact that she was located so close to the paper, it was possible. Or maybe she was even the absent editor, and had received the letter instead.

On the other hand, Seto had to agree that infiltrating the realm of the enemy might prove to be useful. Rationalizing this, as well as realizing that Mokuba was going with the others, he reluctantly joined them after all.

Upon their arrival, they noticed that the sign upon the door claimed that shop was closed, and yet the door had been left ever so slightly ajar.

"Do you think she was expecting us?" asked Téa.

No one stopped to answer, still concerned that they were still being pursued. They merely entered the shop, with Seto wondering if they had stumbled into yet another trap.

There wasn't a single person in the lobby, except for a small capuchin monkey sitting at the front desk. The monkey was dressed in a little silk robe, and was carrying a miniature crystal ball. The monkey chattered happily, handing Yugi a visitors' sign-in sheet.

Seto took one look at the creature.

"That's it; I'm gone," he declared, turning to leave. Mokuba literally had to block his escape.

"Seto, you can't go out there; what if they're still looking for us?" he asked.

"I'm more willing to take my chances with them than with that thing," he said, casting a derisive glare at the monkey.

"Ah, welcome, my young friends," said Mystíca, coming into view herself. "I was worried that you might not make it; there are spirits about tonight; and several of them mean ill." She glanced out the window. "Perhaps it would be best if you all came into my reading room? I could try to see if I can sort out these perplexing auras, if you so choose."

The friends all exchanged glances and entered the room she was indicating. Even Seto entered, though not before giving a warning glare to the monkey. It was going to be a long visit.


	11. The Prophecy

The group entered the reading room, each sitting in one of the numerous armchairs. The monkey also proceeded to join them, standing in the middle of the circular table, still holding the miniature crystal ball.

"I see you have all met Delphi here," said Mystíca. "She is my loyal assistant, always willing to lend her expertise in delicate situations such as these. And as we gather here in this room, I'm sure she will agree that there is an obvious case of spirits having their attention focused on you. Isn't that right, Delphi?"

Delphi nodded vigorously in reply, chattering. She leaped onto Seto's shoulder, much to his annoyance.

"Yes, Delphi, the unfortunate Mr. Kaiba seems to be having the most trouble," said Mystíca. "I do sense a spirit at work here, Mr. Kaiba… and the image that comes to me is of your stepfather. I have been sensing a spirit make several attempts to cross the dimensions and arrive here; perhaps it is him."

"But he hasn't succeeded, right!?" Mokuba blurted out.

"I don't sense any more attempts… he has either failed and given up, or he has succeeded and is waiting to make his move," Mystíca replied. "There is a way we can find out; if we hold a séance, it can determine the location of the spirit in question. I am willing to hold one for free, if you so choose."

Everyone liked the idea, except Seto, of course. Mystíca lit several candles and darkened the room, proceeding to make contact with Gozaburo.

"Well, this is odd…" she said. "I can sense his presence in the spirit realm, as well as ours. He has somehow been able to send a manifestation of himself to this world, though his spirit remains where others spirits should be. The manifestation appears to be digital--"

"He _would_ save his digital form on a backup file!" Seto roared, scaring everyone half out of their wits.

"That accounts for the Exodia Necross…" said Mokuba, and he briefly explained to the others about Leon's letter and the scan of the card.

Delphi then crossed the table and approached Yugi, chattering again.

"Well, this is interesting," said Mystíca. "This has never happened before; this is the first time that a séance has attracted a different spirit than the one intended to be contacted."

Yugi glanced from Delphi to Mystíca, wondering if the spirit was who he thought it was.

"He's addressing you, Mr. Muto, but he seems to be a kind spirit" she went on. "He sends his greetings to you and your friends. The image that comes to me is that of an ancient king--"

"It's Atem!" exclaimed Téa.

Mystíca was taken aback very slightly, but continued on, saying, "This spirit also says that the spirit of Gozaburo Kaiba is in the same dimension as he is, but still advises not to trust him."

"Tell me something I don't know…" Seto muttered under his breath.

"And, with that," said Mystíca. "He wishes you well and now departs." She blew out the candles as Delphi raised the lighting level to normal.

"I don't mean to be rude or anything…" said Joey. "But I don't think it matters what the spirits are up to. Those weren't ghosts trying to blind us with flashlights down in the basement--"

"Joey!" scolded Mai, and Joey stopped before he gave away any more information.

"Yes, it is more difficult to find out the misdeeds of those in this dimension, especially with the sudden increase in malevolent auras as of late," said Mystíca. "I shall require more time to look into that… but I sense some good news in store for you, Miss Gardner."

"Me?" asked Téa.

"Yes, that's right," the psychic replied. "I see a great opportunity in your future… an opportunity that will help you further your career and bring you closer to your dreams."

Bakura and Duke exchanged glances, remembering what they had read in the office portfolio.

"Yes, you have a bright future as far as your career is concerned," said Mystíca. "And as far as I can tell…" She trailed off as a frightened look crossed her face; even Delphi looked worried.

"Is something wrong?" asked Yugi.

"I… I have seen something that worries me greatly!" Mystíca gasped. "Something shall happen… something terrible… and it shall happen within 24 hours!"

Seto rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"And what exactly do you see?" asked Tristan, somewhat skeptical as well.

"I… I need time to look into it further…" she said. "Come by my shop tomorrow, and I will have the answers for you."

"I have another question," said Bakura. "Not concerning a person, but something I heard… I was wondering what sort of vision do you get when you hear the word 'funnel'… I heard someone mention it yesterday, and I was wondering if they were referring to a storm, or something else…"

"No, not a storm," the psychic replied. "I have yet to meet a person who can summon weather at will, and I have pretty much seen it all. But I sense an aura of danger associated with the word, and I have a feeling that it has something to do with the vision I shall be working on tonight…"

She led them to the door, but Mokuba paused, picking up a copy of the _Gazette_. It was at the daily horoscope page.

"Ah, I see you have discovered by job on the side," said Mystíca, with a smile. "I write the daily horoscope for the paper, as you see there. It's why I keep my shop so close to the paper headquarters."

Seto's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Do take care, all of you," said Mystíca. "Do pass by tomorrow morning, and I shall tell you of what I saw."

The group took their leave of the psychic.

"I guess there's no point in asking what you think about that séance…" said Mokuba, as they walked on.

"No point at all," Seto agreed. "Though she's definitely a suspect in my book; the fact that she works at the paper tells me that much. And she did know about Gozaburo's digital form; she must be working with him."

"Kaiba, she _is_ a psychic," Joey reminded him.

"She can't be a psychic, Wheeler, because they _do not _exist!"

"But she did know about Atem," Yugi pointed out. "And hardly anyone knew about him in the first place."

"And she also knew about Téa's big break," added Duke.

"My big break?" she asked, confused.

"Yeah; while Bakura and I were searching upstairs, we found out that you've been chosen as Maria in this summer's--"

Téa tried to hold back the squeal of excitement, but failed.

"Oh, I don't believe this!" she gasped, amazed. "Are you serious!? I know everyone said that my auditions went well, but I never actually thought I'd get the lead role…" She trailed off.

"Something, wrong, Téa?" asked Yugi. "I thought you'd be happy."

"I… I am, but I just thought of something…" she said. "Mystíca was reading my future when she got that horrible vision that she didn't even want to talk about… What if something's going to happen to me?"

"Gardner, get a grip," said Seto. "There was no 'vision.' It was purely for a dramatic effect, and you fell for it."

"But how did she know that I was cast as Maria in the first place?" asked Téa.

"Simple; she's involved with the thieves in the theater and read the same information that Ryou and Devlin read," Seto explained. In his mind, she was already as good as guilty. "How else did they end up finding that same tarantula in there? And she's connected to the _Gazette_; she's probably the mastermind of the entire operation!" He paused to consider whether or not he should investigate her shop, in addition to the theater basement.

"I hate having to agree with Kaiba, but I think he may have a point," said Tristan. "It'd be too easy for her to find out all of this information and then make it seem as though she foresaw it all…"

"I don't know…" said Mai. "I ran into her this morning, and she seemed to know things that nobody else could possibly know… like what happened with Dartz, and how I felt about it…"

"May I remind you that Pegasus knew all about Dartz and your spirit friend?" asked Seto. "She must have received the information from him, which accounts for Pegasus being attacked by spiders as well, assuming that he wasn't lying, too, and is also another mastermind!"

"I hate it when Kaiba makes sense…" said Joey. "Maybe he _is_ right. Now I'm getting suspicious, too. She _did_ duck my question about the thieves, didn't she?"

"Look, maybe Kaiba is right, or maybe we're just jumping to conclusions," said Yugi. "The point is that we can't say anything until we have proof. She did say to come back tomorrow, so I think that's the best course of action. The question is, are we all coming?"

Everyone glanced at Seto, who rolled his eyes again.

"If I can look around and pick up any shred of evidence to further prove my theory, I may as well…" he replied.

That said, everyone went their own ways, making sure that the thieves were not still around and trying to follow them. Everyone was sure to congratulate Téa (though Seto had once again fallen into his aloof silence). Téa's mind, in the meantime, was filled with the thoughts for her starring role.

"_I'm going to have to practice a lot more than ever_," she determined. "_I'm sure the thieves won't be at work in the morning tomorrow, I can start practicing now and by the time summer comes, I'll be at my best._"

Biting back another squeal, she ran home, that the psychic's wouldn't bother her under any circumstances.

* * *

Perhaps Téa wouldn't have been bothered by the prophecy if it hadn't been for the sight that greeted them at the psychic's shop the next morning. They had thought it strange that the daily horoscope hadn't been printed in the _Gazette_ that morning, and they had intended to ask Mystíca about it. But they never had the chance. Just like the old doors in the basement, the shop door had been forced off of its hinges, and the entire interior had been ransacked. The table in the reading room had been overturned, books had been pulled from their shelves (with torn pages lying everywhere), and the floor was littered with broken candles, smashed crystal balls, damaged trinkets, and ripped draperies, among other things. And there was no sign of either Mystíca or Delphi; the shop was abandoned.

"What kind of person would break into a psychic's shop?" asked Mai, wide-eyed. "What would they want?"

"I'm surprised that she didn't see this coming…" said Seto, derisively. "You would think that a psychic couldn't possibly have her shop ransacked like this… As I thought, she isn't much of a psychic."

"Kaiba, this isn't funny," said Yugi. "We don't even know what happened to her; she could be in trouble for all we know."

"Who could have done this?" asked Téa. "And why?"

"Well, I have an idea of who's behind this," said Mokuba, pointing to a small tarantula crawling up the shelf (and Duke immediately grabbed the nearest heavy book and went to work). "I guess they didn't want her getting visions of what they were doing."

"Unless she faked her entire disappearance just to make herself look like the victim," said Seto, still convinced that she was somehow involved. "How do we know she didn't set this whole thing up herself? This set-up doesn't prove her innocence in any way."

"Kaiba, aren't you the least bit concerned about her?" asked Téa. "Or do you only care about proving her guilty?"

"Look at this!" Yugi exclaimed, before Seto could reply. He picked up a torn piece of paper, where a hastily-written prophecy had been written on it. "This must be the vision she wanted to tell us about!"

Everyone crowded around the paper, trying to determine what it meant.

"_I leave now, as the dark auras draw near,  
__But a terrifying sight is coming, I fear.  
__The faceless will soon have a face,  
__As an innocent suffers a fall from grace.  
__And after the good sun has set,  
__The cunning schemer will be met!  
__And then, before the night is done,  
__A lioness will weep for a scorpion!_"


	12. Fall from Grace

"Does anyone understand what it's trying to say?" asked Joey.

"Oh, certainly," Seto replied, sarcastically. "Obviously, it means that she's hit the road, someone's getting plastic surgery, someone else is in for a bad day, those cowards will finally show themselves, and there'll be trouble at the zoo tonight."

"Well, he's right about one thing, anyway," said Téa, with a roll of her eyes. "If this prophecy is correct, we'll find out who's behind this mad scheme."

"About time, too," said Mokuba. "They've been driving us crazy all this time; if we find out who it is, we can at least fight back."

"But it still doesn't make sense…" said Bakura, trying to decipher the meaning of the words.

"Prophecies were meant to make no sense," said Mai, with a shake of her head. "That way, in case they get into the wrong hands, the enemy can't figure out what it's trying to say."

"But what happened to Mystíca and Delphi?" asked Yugi. "If they're in trouble, we have to help them!"

"We just have to hope that they got out of here in time," said Duke, looking around for more spiders.

"And even if they aren't, what exactly can we do?" asked Tristan. "Let's face it; all it takes for those thieves to send us packing are a few flashlights aimed in our eyes. How are we supposed to--?"

"I think we ought to try and follow this anyway," said Yugi. "Who's with me?"

"You're on your own this time," Seto replied, walking away. "I have some company reports to go over, and then I have to make sure that the _Gazette_ isn't printing more slander against me."

He and Mokuba left, as the others all agreed to meet again in a couple hours to figure out the new twist to the mystery. In the middle of this conversation, Téa's cell phone rang.

"Miss Gardner?" asked the voice of Sara. "I know you didn't have any lessons scheduled today, but do you think you could possibly help me with a few of my steps today? I tried practicing at home, but I always seem to make mistakes. I hope you don't mind…"

Téa pondered over this; she wanted to help her friends, but knew that she owed it to her protégées to be there for them.

"Guys, listen…" she said. "I think I'm going to be late, assuming I show up at all; I have to meet someone. Is that alright?"

Of course, they all said it was fine, and Téa headed for the theater.

* * *

"You're absolutely certain that the psychic is involved somehow?" asked Mokuba, as he and Seto arrived at the Kaiba Corporation building.

"I am inclined to believe that anyone who knows what they shouldn't know is involved," Seto replied. "And as far as I'm concerned, I…" He trailed off at the sight which greeted him.

It was a Saturday, so no one else was present. But that didn't mean that the office building was devoid of life by any means. Hanging everywhere from draglines and webs, as well as crawling all over the floor, ceiling, and walls, were spiders of every shape and size. And this was only the lobby; there was no telling what had infested the other rooms.

Mokuba's eyes widened.

"What happened here!?" he exclaimed. "There wasn't a single bug in here at all when we left last evening! Seto, what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know…" the young CEO replied, through gritted teeth. "But I can tell you right now that someone is going to pay dearly for this!"

After a quick research on local exterminators, Seto placed in a call to the best he could find, and then proceeded to fume at the arachnids.

"Someone went through a lot of trouble to pull this off," said Mokuba, trying to avoid the suspended spiders as they went from room to room, only to find more. "How did they get past security? Do you think it was that crowd yesterday? …But we would have noticed if they had slipped the spiders in then…"

Seto replied with a growl of frustration as they arrived to find his office door wide open. A second large goliath was spreading silk all over his desk. Mokuba glanced uncertainly at his brother, as a vein in Seto's neck began to swell like the previous day.

"THAT'S _IT_!" he roared. "I am going back that theater! And when I get my hands on whoever is behind this, they will rue the day they ever heard of my name and my company--!"

He let out another growl of rage as his cell phone rang, and found that it was Vulsor yet again, asking for another meeting.

"I'm afraid I have some important matters which require my attention," Seto replied, as calmly as he could. "But if a meeting is absolutely essential, I could send my vice-president in my stead."

"Well, if it has to be that way, I guess it's fine," she replied. "Shall we be meeting in your boardroom again?"

"I… don't think that will be possible," he said, glancing around at the web-covered room. "My brother will arrive at your boardroom as soon as possible."

Vulsor agreed and hung up.

"You will be careful in the theater, right?" asked Mokuba.

"Of course," Seto replied. "Don't bother waiting for me to come back; I intend to stay there as long as I have to."

"You sure you'll be OK down there, without anyone?"

"I think I'll definitely be better off," Seto agreed. "I tried things their way by acting as a team, and you saw for yourself what happened. Every time we came close to a lead, their incessant noise alerted the thieves to our position and ruined everything. I can find the answers alone. I wouldn't have to retreat if I found them again; I could hold my ground and fight."

Mokuba chose not to voice his opinion: that they may have progressed further as a team than Seto could have completed alone. And he sincerely hoped that Seto would be able to handle it.

* * *

"Looks like Téa was too busy to make it," said Yugi, as he and the others reconvened outside Mystíca's abandoned shop, which was now being searched by police. "Hopefully, she'll be able to join us later…"

"Why exactly are we here?" asked Mai. "I don't think we'll be allowed back in, especially while they're searching in there…"

"I was thinking about looking in the _Gazette_ headquarters," said Yugi. "I know that Kaiba and Téa were there yesterday, but there may be more clues as to Mystíca's role hidden somewhere."

The crew entered the building, and made way for a large-built man, dressed in a black three-piece suit and wearing a matching hat. Dark sunglasses concealed his eyes as he glanced at them, talking quietly on his cell phone.

He paused, as he surveyed them, and then snapped his fingers. The assistant editor ran over at top speed.

"See to what they want, and then send them away," the man ordered, indicating Yugi and the others. "I have work to do, and I do not want to be disturbed."

"Yes, Sir," the girl replied.

Mai glared at the man as he retreated, and then turned back to the girl.

"Where is your pride?" she asked the assistant editor. "No man has the right to speak like that. If that was me he had been talking to--"

"It's alright," the girl said. "Our editor was never like this before; he must be under some great stress at his other job lately; he hasn't been the same these past few days…"

"_Right when this whole spider fiasco started…_" thought Yugi. "_Kaiba was right; this can't be a coincidence. His 'other job' must be with the thieves!_"

"…And now the lady who writes the daily horoscope has vanished," the assistant editor went on. "That's infuriated him. And he's been spending a lot more time away; I can't imagine why, but I'm certainly not complaining… taking on his work means I get overtime and all…"

"Where exactly does this guy work?" asked Joey, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Some important corporate job that pays a lot more than an editor does," she replied. "He only stays on as editor since it's a family business… goes back to his grandfather's day… He mentioned that his grandfather worked as a metal smith, but gave it up. He started the paper soon after."

Yugi's eyes widened; it was similar to the story that Téa had told them about the theater. And if this man was the grandson of the original owner of the theater, then it made perfect sense as to how their adversaries knew the underground passageways so well. And the "corporate job" also pointed fingers at him being involved in the ruination of Kaiba Corporation. But that still didn't explain what had happened to Madame Mystíca… He could only wonder if his other job was requiring him to find her… or if he already had…

"_If only Téa were here, she could help us piece this thing together_," he thought. "_She could give us a name; that might be the clue we need… But I don't even know where she is; we'll have to try to get the editor's name from here… but how do we do that without sounding suspicious?_"

The girl paused in her story as she took a second glance at Yugi.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Aren't you Yugi Muto!?"

Yugi suppressed a smile; a fangirl's adoration might be a way to get the needed name.

* * *

Téa, in the meantime, had been helping Sara with her lessons. They had progressed well after noon, which was when sounds could be heard from beneath the stage again.

"They're back! The monsters are back!" Sara screamed.

"Sara, I think we should call it quits for now," said Téa. "I want you to wait outside for your parents, alright? I'm going to take a quick look downstairs, and then I'll join you outside."

Sara nodded and left as Téa slipped backstage and went back down to the cellars. The knowledge of the fake dust made her realize that something had to be hidden in one of the others rooms in the cellar, and that the trapdoor was an entrance intended to be used as a trap for outsiders. There must be at least a second entrance… one that the thieves used…

Holding her breath against the odor of the mildew, Téa traversed the basement corridors with nothing but a flashlight. As she progressed from room to room, she became aware of several metal objects stored in each room.

"_They must be leftovers from when the place was owned by the metal smiths…_" she thought. "_Wonder why they're still around; you'd think that the thieves would've used them for something…_"

She pondered over going to the trapdoor room; she recalled where it was, even though their footprints from yesterday had vanished, due to a recent coating of the fake dust. But no; Sara would be waiting for her outside, and the thieves waiting for her _inside_. She would have to come back later, but she would come back; she had to take a stand for the theater.

"_This theater is like my second home, and I simply cannot allow these thieves to run wild below it like this… Listen to me…_" she thought, with a shake of her head. "_I'm starting to sound just like Kaiba again; that's the way he talks about Kaiba Corp. sometimes…_"

She turned to go, but her flashlight beam caught another old door; it looked like a rotted-away part of the wall, but it was, in fact, a door. She placed a hand on it slightly, and it fell over with a resounding crash. Her heart rose to her throat for an instant; surely, the thieves would have heard _that_. But there was an odd object inside, and she wandered into the room to investigate.

The floor was as rotten-looking (eaten away by years of mildew) as the door had been, so she carefully watched her footing as she walked over to it. The object turned out to be a large wrought-iron gate, with the words "Gratia Metalworks" formed from the iron. Beneath it was carved the name of the owner, and she stepped forward to take a closer look at the name.

And that was when she heard the distinct sound of splintering wood. It took only an instant to realize that "gratia" was Latin for "grace," and it took only another instant to remember Madame Mystíca's prophecy.

"_An innocent suffers a fall from grace!_"

But those instants proved to be too much time for her. Téa turned to run, but the floor beneath her feet fell apart. For the briefest instant, she was suspended in empty air. The wrought-iron gate fell through the floor in a cloud of dust, and with a piercing scream, Téa soon followed. And then the darkness closed in.


	13. Prisoner of the Tide

Oblivious to the events inside the theater, Sara was still waiting patiently outside for Téa. But time went on and on, and she did not appear. Sara was considering going back inside to see what had happened, but she was distracted by the arrival of a large limo.

Seto emerged from the vehicle, ordering his chauffeur to return to the manor for now. He was about to enter the theater, but paused upon hearing the small voice of a child.

"Excuse me…" said Sara. "Can you help me, please?"

Seto glanced at the girl, unsure of what to say. He was forcefully reminded of his own bitter childhood, and was wondering where on earth the girl's caretakers were.

"I'll see what I can do," Seto replied.

"My tutor has disappeared," she said. "She said she would be right out to wait with me until my parents came to pick me up, but…" She shrugged her shoulders in bemusement. "The door's locked from the outside, so I can't go back in to look for her…" She trailed off as another car pulled up. "And my parents are here, so I've gotta leave. If you find her, can you please tell her that I left already, and that I hope she's okay?"

Seto nodded quickly, making a mental note to give this so-called tutor a piece of his mind for leaving this child to wait alone for so long. He shuddered off the onset of his own childhood memories, but it made him remember that Gozaburo was probably involved in the goings-on.

He set to work with a skeleton key, but paused upon hearing another voice call his name.

"Kaiba!?"

Annoyed, he looked back to see Vulsor, surveying him from her own limo. She had a satisfied smirk on her face.

"I _thought_ I saw you," she said, laughing. "So _this_ is why you couldn't attend the meeting? You had a secret rendezvous? Who's the girl, Kaiba? And here I was, thinking you were single…"

Seto felt like bashing his head against the door.

"There is no 'rendezvous,'" he said, through gritted teeth.

"Alright, alright," said Vulsor, backing off. "I can see when you're getting serious…"

"And I see that _you're_ here, instead of the meeting," Seto added. "Don't tell me that my brother's waiting for someone to show up."

"Of course he isn't!" said Vulsor, with a casual wave of her hand. "Since you pulled out of the meeting and sent your vice president to handle it, I decided to take the rest of the day off and send _my_ vice-president. Your brother is speaking with him right now."

"At least _some_ work is getting finished…" Seto grumbled under his breath. "Even if this investigation isn't…"

"So if you aren't heading to a secret meeting, what are you up to?" asked Vulsor. "The place looks closed."

"If you must know, I'm trying to get back at whoever is trying to ruin my company," Seto replied.

"In a performing arts theater?"

"It would seem so, wouldn't it?" Seto asked, sardonically. "Or I suppose you could go on your way, believing that I came here to see a secret showing of _Dance of the Vampires_."

Vulsor laughed, and she retreated back into her seat. But suddenly, she emerged from her limo.

"Hold on for just a minute!" she exclaimed. "These are the same miscreants who are giving _me_ a hard time, too! Make way, Kaiba; I shall be going with you!"

Seto growled in frustration again.

"I work best _alone_," he said.

"That well may be," she replied. "But this is _my_ company's prosperity we're dealing with, too, thank you very much!"

She pushed open the newly-unlocked door, and paused to wait for him.

"Well, are you coming?" she asked him.

"_If not Yugi, it's someone else_," Seto thought, furiously, as he entered the theater. "_Why me!?_"

* * *

As this was going on, Yugi and the others were departing the _Gazette_ office. Yugi had received the name he had been searching for, in exchange for signing an autograph.

"She said his family name was Gratia at one point," said Yugi. "But the name changed somewhere along the line. I think the town records will hold some more answers."

"Looks like we're heading to the library next," concluded Mai. "I'll provide the ride--"

"Look at that!" exclaimed Bakura, as they headed to the car. "I think they've found something in Mystíca's shop…"

There was a loud commotion going on inside the psychic's shop. The others looked in time to see a small furry creature bound from the doorway, scampering up the nearest lamppost.

"Is that Delphi!?" asked Tristan.

The investigators all filed out of the shop, trying to coax the monkey down, who merely chattered to them in reply, not budging from her position.

"Is something wrong?" asked Yugi.

"That monkey has something in one of its pockets," said one investigator, trying to draw the wary primate towards them with a piece of fruit (and she wasn't falling for it at all). "It might be evidence or some other explanation as to why the keeper of this shop vanished."

"Something's not right here…" said Joey, in an undertone to the others. "When we checked the place out this morning, Delphi was nowhere. How did she suddenly turn up again?"

"She's a monkey, Joey; she can hide just about anywhere," said Duke. "Hey, Tristan… you once turned into a monkey in that virtual world; think you can understand what she's trying to say?"

"No, Devlin, I can't," Tristan growled in reply. "Though I'm sure her psychic powers would say that _I'm_ the one for Serenity."

"Keep dreaming…" Duke mused, but both of them fell silent upon a glare from Joey.

Meanwhile, the monkey chattered and proceeded to leap away, jumping from lampposts and shop signs. Everyone proceeded to Mai's car, not taking their eyes off of the primate.

"Follow that capuchin!" Joey exclaimed.

* * *

Téa began to revive upon feeling water on her face. She tried moving her arm to place her hand on her throbbing head, but found that she couldn't do so. Both of her arms refused to move.

"What's happened to me?" she wondered aloud. And then she remembered finding the gate just before falling through the floor.

She opened her eyes in a panic, fearing that she had broken her arms in the fall. Everywhere around her was darkness, as well as water; she had fallen right upon the edge of the underground lake.

She tried to get up without using her arms, but could not do so. She couldn't move at all. Her heart was pounding faster now; something was terribly wrong with her, and she could only dread the effects. She would be trapped down here for ages. She hadn't even told Yugi that she was going to search the basement again; they wouldn't even be looking for her until they realized that she was missing, and who knew when that would be!?

She couldn't think; forgetting that she was in the thick of the thieves' territory, she started calling for help. She had to get out of here; she had to get to a hospital or somewhere she could recover.

She didn't know for how long she was yelling, but suddenly, a flashlight shined into her face. It took a moment for her eyes to get adjusted to the light, and she was astounded to see it coming from the outline of the _Hello, Dolly_ carriage that had been commandeered as a boat by the thieves. At last, her panicked mind came to grips with her situation; one of the thieves had spotted her. But she was distracted by another revelation; the reason she couldn't move was because the heavy iron gate had fallen on top of her; she had mercifully escaped its full weight, but the way it had landed against the cavern wall had succeeded in trapping her so that she could only just breathe. And to make matters worse, there was a thief, a few feet away from her. Téa was so desperate to be freed from the gate, she appealed to the thief for help, deciding that being taken prisoner would be the lesser evil.

"Please, can you help me!?" she called to the figure on the water. "I can't move; I'm trapped by this thing!"

"Serves you right, then," a voice replied her. "If getting chased out of here didn't convince you to stay out, then maybe this is fate getting back at you for your nosiness. Have a nice day."

"Please, don't go!" she pleaded. "I can't escape from this gate on my own! I'll be trapped down here forever!"

"Oh, not forever," the voice replied, as the carriage floated by. "I'd say you'll be down here for about an hour."

"What do you mean…?" asked Téa, knowing that the reason couldn't be a good one. "Is someone going to come for me?"

"I doubt it," the voice replied. "But you still won't be here for long. After all, the tide's coming in."

Téa's face paled in horror; she remembered what Seto had said the previous night about the tide feeding the lake, causing the water volume to increase. And if she was trapped, she wouldn't be able to swim away when the water level would rise to above her head.

"You can't leave me here like this!" Téa cried, almost hysterical. "Have some mercy on me!"

The voice did not reply her; the flashlight beam vanished, and she distinctly hear the sound of an oar on water as the carriage floated away. The thief had abandoned her to the mercy of the tide.

The tears began to depart from her eyes as she reflected upon how she had managed to get herself into this inescapable trap. She had wanted to prove to the others that she had been capable of having enough courage to try to solve this mystery. Instead, she had solved nothing, and her friends couldn't help her out of this. She couldn't even help herself.

* * *

Yugi had always been alert to knowing when one of his friends was in trouble, and now his sixth sense was telling him so.

"Yugi?" asked Joey, over the roar of the car. "You're starting to look a little out of it. What's gotten into you?"

"I think Téa might be in trouble," he replied. "Did she say where she was going to be today?"

There was an exchange of glances and a shake of heads. Yugi seemed furious with himself.

"I don't know where to go…" he said. "If Atem were here, he'd help me figure out where to find her. Why can't I help her on my own!?"

"Calm down, Yugi," said Tristan, as Mai pulled over. "Clear your mind and concentrate. Now think… where is Téa likely to go on a Saturday?"

"I'd say the theater, but it's closed on weekends, isn't it?" he asked. "She got a phone call and said that she had to meet someone… Oh, it's no use!" he blurted out, blinking tears out of his violet eyes. "I can't believe this. Téa's in trouble, and I can't help her! And thanks to me, Delphi's gotten away, too! Atem would never have messed this up like I did!"

"Yugi, calm down; it's a monkey," said Duke. "Téa's more important--"

Yugi snapped out of his self-loathing phase just long enough to answer his cell phone.

"Yugi, I need you to come back to the Game Shop," said Solomon. "Right now, if you please!"

"But, Grandpa, I can't; something's happened to--"

"_Now_, Yugi," he insisted, the urgency evident in his voice.

Yugi was about to argue, but something told him that his grandfather's worry was somehow concerning Téa after all.

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can," he said, and he collected his worried emotions with a sigh. "What do we do…?"

"I'll tell you what," said Tristan. "Devlin, Bakura, and I will check out that 'Gratia' name in the records, and we'll call you if we find out anything (or that runaway monkey). Mai, can you take Yugi and Joey to the Game Shop and anywhere else they need to go?"

She nodded. As soon as the three got out of the car, she hastily performed a u-turn, heading for the shop. It would be a race against time, she realized. And for Téa's sake, they had to win.


	14. The Mastermind Met

"_At least she's a lot quieter than Yugi's crew_," Seto thought to himself, as he and Vulsor searched the basement corridors. But that didn't stop him from being annoyed by her tagging along.

Vulsor was following behind him, holding the flashlight. But when she cast the beam to the floor, they both noticed a relatively new set of footprints, which Vulsor couldn't recognize.

"I've never seen footprints like those before," she said. "I've seen footprints of sneakers and other shoes, but those look like…"

"Dancing shoes…?" Seto asked aloud.

"Really?" asked Vulsor, kneeling in the dust to get a closer look. "Well, you're probably right…"

Seto glanced around the corridor, wondering if someone was nearby. And that was when he remembered about the young girl outside mentioning that her tutor had vanished. Either an innocent bystander had tried to take a look at what had been going on, or…

"_Leave it to Gardner to get herself lost down here_," he thought. He was half expecting her to show up right where they were standing. And then they'd get into another argument about getting in each other's way, leaving him to deal with both her and Vulsor.

"Listen!" gasped Vulsor. "Do you hear that!?"

Seto concentrated and was also able to hear it: a faint voice, obviously calling for help. And it sounded just like Téa. So, she _was_ lost in the labyrinth somewhere. But why would she be calling out when the thieves would be able to hear her? Either she had lost it completely, or she was desperate to escape.

"I think it's a trap," said Vulsor. "We'd better get out of here; clearly, we go to help that girl, and they're going to swarm us."

She had a point, Seto realized. He was never the heroic one anyway; perhaps he should just call Yugi to take care of things. But there was something about Téa's frantic cries that made him uneasy; it was as though she had been overcome by an incredible fear.

"_Just turn away_," his pride ordered himself. "_You're not as expendable as she is, even if she is in trouble. Her friends will come to her rescue; you need to save yourself, if not for your own sake, then for Mokuba. Get out of here while you still can… before those thieves show up again…_"

Seto turned to leave, but the pleas and cries were too intense for any human to ignore. Something was terribly wrong, and as though to illustrate that fact, the screams faded away to nothing.

"I don't like this one bit," said Vulsor. "Let's get out of here; we can call the police to search down here."

Seto couldn't move, and his pride was chiding himself for it.

"_You're going soft, Kaiba! Get a grip on yourself before you start turning into one of Yugi's cronies!_"

And suddenly he realized why the cries had unnerved him; a painful memory of his childhood had resurfaced. He had been barely thirteen at the time, but he could still remember the day when he and Mokuba had been riding in the limo on their way to speak with Gozaburo. The memory of the accident itself was hazy; perhaps he had been unconscious for a while, but he distinctly remembered coming to upon hearing his younger brother's frantic cries for help. Mokuba had been trapped in the wreckage, and had feared for his life. And Seto realized that Téa's screams (which had now ceased completely) had been echoing that same fear; no one could possibly fake such a degree of fear.

"Where are you going?" asked Vulsor, looking back to see Seto walk in the direction of the cries.

"I don't know about you, but I intend to solve this mystery and get my equipment back," he replied. "And the first line of business is to free the captive and see what she knows."

* * *

"Grandpa?" asked Yugi, as he entered the Kame Game Store. "I'm here; you said it was important--"

"Yugi!" gasped a woman, whom he recognized as Mrs. Gardner. "Yugi, please tell me that you know where my daughter is!"

"We're trying to look for her, too…" Yugi replied, unable to look Mrs. Gardner in the eyes. "She said she had to meet with someone this morning--"

"Really? Well you know more than we do," said Mr. Gardner, trying to console his wife. "She normally calls us when she's going to be late, but we haven't heard from her, either."

"I'm sorry," said Solomon, disappointed that he could not alleviate the worries of the couple. "I had hoped that Yugi might be the one to know what had happened. He has a close friendship with your daughter."

"And it worries me that she didn't even tell _him_ where she would be!" cried Mrs. Gardner.

"It's a long shot, but we were thinking that something may have brought her back to the theater--" Joey began, but was cut off by a cell phone ring.

"Oh, please be Téa," Yugi prayed. "Oh… hi, Tristan. No, we haven't found her yet; her parents are here at the Game Shop looking for her, too… Did you find out anything?"

"Well, we didn't find Téa or Delphi, but we did find the name we were looking for. The name _has_ changed; the owners of the metalwork company had the last name Gratia-Travencore, and it was eventually shortened, though we couldn't find the new name. We're going back to the _Gazette_ office to see if we can figure out what else we can find out. And I need to hang up, because that librarian over there is giving me the evil eye…"

"Tristan? Tristan!?" asked Yugi, as the connection was lost. "Oh, no… I hope he won't get into too much trouble for that…"

"But we got the name!" said Joey. "Whoever this guy is, he might know something about Téa's disappearance!"

"That's right," agreed Mai. "All we have to do is pull up an internet search, and we'll hopefully find out where his other job is. And maybe that's where we'll finally find Téa."

"But shouldn't we still check--?" asked Yugi, but he paused as his cell phone activated again. "Mokuba just sent me a text message; he's asking if we know where Téa is…"

"You're kidding…" said Joey, looking over his shoulder. "Why would Mokuba be asking for Téa?"

"He says he's in a meeting and can't talk, but says that he just received a text message from his brother, who thinks that she's in some sort of trouble, too."

"Aw, man; if _Kaiba_ thinks Téa's in trouble, then she must be!" said Joey, growing more worried.

"Joey!" warned Mai, indicating Téa's horrified parents. She then turned to Yugi. "Did Mokuba say where Kaiba is?"

"No; he wouldn't be asking us where they were if he already knew. I guess Kaiba didn't tell him. It's another dead end…" Yugi replied, disappointed.

"Don't give up yet," ordered Mai. "We still have that name as our clue; we just need to put all of the pieces together. In the meantime, send a message back to Mokuba asking him if he can find out through his brother where Téa is."

Yugi nodded; it was the only chance they had. Solomon sighed as the three teens departed the room, and could only offer the Gardners his thoughts and prayers to try to lighten their burden.

* * *

"Kaiba, is this really worth it?" asked Vulsor, as they searched through the corridors. "Why are you bothering to help this girl who means nothing to you? You don't even like her, so why are you risking your own safety (not to mention mine) to help her?"

"No one's forcing you to come along," Seto shot back. "I told you I handle things better alone anyway!"

Vulsor fell silent as they approached the room with the rotten floorboards. Seto carefully made his way to the hole in the floor, taking the flashlight from Vulsor and aiming it into the hole.

"Who's there!?" came a frantic cry from down below. "Can you please help me!? I don't have any time left; the tide's almost covered me!"

Seto was shocked to see Téa trapped beneath the iron gate, and knew that with the water level as high as it was, she didn't have enough time to wait for Yugi or the others at all. Seto flinched as he realized that her survival depended on him. She didn't even have enough time to wait for Seto to find the trapdoor room and swim to her; he would have to jump.

"_I'm no hero…_" he snarled to himself. "_What is she expecting of me!?_"

And yet, he knew that even he wasn't so heartless as to stand by and do nothing. With a frustrated sigh, he removed his trenchcoat.

"Find your own way down," he instructed Vulsor.

And with that, he leaped into the hole and into the water. The gate was heavier than he had expected, and for all of his efforts, it didn't budge when he pulled upon it. By this time, the water level had increased to above Téa's head. She merely held her breath and prayed, keeping her eyes shut.

Now Seto tried a different tactic; by focusing his strength on one corner of the gate, he was able to move it slightly.

"_Faster, Kaiba, faster!_" he ordered himself. "_You don't have all day, and neither does she!_"

At last, Téa was freed from the gate, but she had fallen unconscious. Seto had no other choice put to pull her from the water and take her to higher, dry ground in the cavern. She began to revive now, coughing as the musty air returned to her, and Seto found it prudent to stand aside.

"I'm free…" she whispered, as she sat up. "But how did I get away from that gate?" She turned, and beheld the face of her rescuer. Her jaw dropped in disbelief. "You!?"

"Small world, isn't it?" Seto asked, sardonically.

"Not you!" she blurted out, pointing at him. "Anyone but _you_! This has got to be a joke!"

"Well, I'm certainly not laughing," he replied. "And you might want to thank me for saving your life before you begin all of your snarling."

"Um… hello?" asked Vulsor, who had apparently found her way to them. She was carrying Seto's trenchcoat, which he accepted.

"May as well tell Mokuba that I managed to fish you out of the lake," he said, sending another text message to his brother. Téa didn't reply him, but her face was still bright red.

"_Of all the people who had to come to my rescue, it __had__ to be Seto Kaiba, didn't it!?_" she thought, furiously. "_Why not Atem!? Or Yugi!? Or any of the others!? Kaiba will never let me forget this…_"

Seto put away his cell phone and placed his trenchcoat back around him. He did consider lending it to Téa, but felt as though he had granted her enough favors to last for a long time.

"If you two are quite ready, shall we continue on down this cavern?" he asked. "I have a feeling that the answer we seek are at the end of it."

"I wonder where it leads…" Vulsor thought aloud.

"I did see someone take the missing carriage as a boat down the cavern," Téa recalled, as they walked. "It was one of the thieves, so I'm guessing that this cavern leads to their headquarters."

"You saw one of them!?" Seto asked.

"Yeah; I asked for help, but…" she shuddered. "The thief just left me there to the tide."

"That's terrible!" exclaimed Vulsor.

That did it. Seto rounded on her.

"Why don't you stop the masquerade!?" he snarled. "I know who you really are, Vulsor!"

"What are you talking about!?" she asked, looking scandalized.

"Kaiba?" Téa asked, uncertainly. "Are you sure--?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Seto retorted. "If you don't believe me, why don't you ask her why she never seemed to be overly concerned about her emails and crowds? Why don't you ask her how she just happened to be arriving at the theater when I was trying to get in? Why don't you ask her how she knew that I knew you, even though she had never met you before? Why don't you ask her why the name on that gate you found was 'Gratia-Travencore,' and why the name of her vice-president is _also_ Travencore!? And why don't you ask her how she managed to make it down here so quickly, as though she knew exactly which way to go?"

Téa's eyes widened in horror, and she glanced at Vulsor with a furious look, who, in turn, was glancing at Seto with a look of amusement and bemusement.

"Did you honestly believe that I'd never see through your façade and uncover your little Carmen Sandiego routine!?" Seto roared. He pulled the smashed electronics from the previous night out of his pocket. "Here's the final proof; I was able to track these to your company!"

Vulsor began to laugh.

"Oh, I knew you would figure it out eventually," she said, struggling to maintain her composure (this all seemed quite funny to her). "Of course you would! You're too shrewd for your own good, Seto Kaiba! But I'll admit that you solved the case a lot quicker than I expected you to!"

"Well, your game is over!" snarled Seto. "We're getting out of here, and you aren't about to stop me!"

"Really?" Vulsor asked.

Before anyone could make a move, she grabbed the weakened Téa and held her so that she couldn't move. She then drew a small vial from her pocket, which held a medium-sized, bluish-black spider. She held the spider-filled vial in front of Téa, who flinched at the creature.

"Allow me to introduce to you to the funnel web spider," she said. "Said to be one of the most venomous. One of my henchmen must have been discussing about our shipment of these spiders; that was what your friend Bakura overheard. Now then, Kaiba… you are free to go. I know I can't capture the great Seto Kaiba, so I won't even try. However, if you do decide to leave, know that this vial will open, and this little spider will leap right onto your friend here. Now… maybe she won't get bitten if she stays really still, but…" She paused, glancing at the trembling dancer. "You can't be sure, can you?"

Seto saw the fear rising in Téa's eyes again.

"_What's he going to do!?_" she thought. "_He wouldn't leave me here, would he!? Oh, he just might after how ungrateful I was when he saved me last time…_"

Seto, meanwhile, was waging his own personal war.

"_Vulsor has to be bluffing_," his pride rationalized. "_She wouldn't dare try such a thing. You can't afford to get captured!_"

"Kaiba…" Téa whispered, not taking her eyes off of the vial. "Help me, please…"

"_Ignore it! Ignore it!_" his pride roared. "_Just walk away and call Vulsor's bluff!_"

And yet, he couldn't walk away. He may be a cold loner, but he had saved Téa the first time because he wasn't so heartless to see her suffer. But it would do her no good for him to stand there and do nothing.

"Well, Kaiba?" asked Vulsor. "What's it going to be?"


	15. Escapes and Captures

"Well, Kaiba?" asked Vulsor, clearly enjoying the power she was wielding. "We really don't have all night."

Seto said nothing, merely glancing at Téa, then at the spider, and then back at Téa again. He was weighing his options carefully; in the text message he had just sent to Mokuba, he had already revealed what he had figured out abut Vulsor being the guilty party, and how Travencore was her right-hand man. He trusted his younger brother to find an escape route, as well as find a way to fight back.

Seto's mind raced, trying to figure out a way out of the situation. His pride wasn't about to allow him to come along with Vulsor quietly, and yet he knew that if he did turn and walk away, Téa's pleading face would forever haunt his mind.

"Kaiba…" Téa whispered, not taking her eyes off of the agitated spider in the vial. "You can stop her, can't you? You've stopped worse creeps; please tell me you can get me… I mean, both of us out of here…"

"Haven't I saved you enough times already?" asked Seto. He wasn't serious; he was trying to stall for time until he got his plan together. He then glared at Vulsor. "And as for you… don't you think that using a weakened girl as a shield is underhanded, not to mention cowardly!?"

"But, Kaiba, you've left me with no choice!" said Vulsor, in an annoying sing-song voice. "You built up so much power and glory, that there's none left for the rest of us. And we need a piece, too. What do you say? You can make this easy and hand your company over to me. And while you're at it, you can convince von Schroeder and Pegasus to do the same. Or you could fight back…" She paused, indicating Téa. "…Assuming that you can live with the weight of the consequences forever resting on your conscience… And to think, if I had tried this plan years ago, it wouldn't have worked, seeing as though you didn't have a conscience then. Your stepfather was right; trusting others was a mistake."

She had struck a nerve, which was what she had intended to do. Despite the dim light, Seto's face had visibly paled, and he furiously looked away as the memory of Gozaburo returned to him.

"I knew I never should've accepted any help…" he said, bitterly.

"No; it's not true!" said Téa, furiously trying and failing to break free. In spite of however much she complained that Seto was self-centered and impossible to get along with, she knew that he had come a long way from the way he had once been, before his first duel with Yugi and Atem. And she didn't want to see him go back to that colder, cruel young man she had once known. Yes, it was true that he was still cold and aloof, but he wasn't cruel anymore; the fact that he had just saved her life moments ago proved that.

"Pipe down," snarled Vulsor, sneering at Téa. "You have no right to say a word; _you're_ the reason he's in this predicament. You and your band of friends softened him up, which made my job so much easier. I guess I have to thank you for that, Miss Gardner."

"Kaiba, please, don't listen to her!" Téa went on. "There's no way your stepfather could have been right about anything; he was completely deranged! Even Mokuba said that you were better off after meeting us. Yes, you have changed, but it's not a bad thing!"

"And this is coming from the one who told him merely a day ago that he had brought everything upon himself?" asked Vulsor. "I don't think you're being very consistent."

Now Téa fell silent, feeling exceedingly guilty. She had said those words in a moment of anger and frustration, but there was no point in trying to explain that now; Vulsor would only use it against her.

But Seto now realized that Vulsor was trying to play mind games with the both of them. He shook off the memories of Gozaburo; he wasn't about to let this woman win with words. He could fight back with his own arguments; anything that would stall until he figured a way out.

* * *

Mokuba, in the meantime, was unobtrusively checking his text messages, and was astounded by his brother's news about the true identity of the thieves. His eyes narrowed at Travencore, but he was determined not to let it on that he did, in fact, know the truth about their scheme.

He also noticed the message from Yugi; Téa _was_ missing, but apparently, she was wherever Seto was at the moment. Seto still wasn't divulging their location, in case the messages were being intercepted. Mokuba fully understood, but that still didn't keep him from worrying about his brother and his friend; Seto had mentioned that Vulsor was with them.

"What are you doing, Boy!?" asked Travencore, noticing that Mokuba was trying to send another text message. "We're supposed to be discussing the progression of these companies!"

"Well, excuse me!" said Mokuba. "If you'd rather my phone keeps activating every two minutes to let me know that there's something in my inbox, then fine! I have a life outside of Kaiba Corporation!"

"How nice it must be to live a life so full of responsibilities without any concern for them!" Travencore mused. "I would never--"

"There's a message from the boss for you, Mr. Travencore," said another man, entering the room to give him his cell phone.

"You were saying…?" Mokuba asked, with a slight smirk. But then, his smirk faded as he realized that Vulsor had sent the message. Seto wouldn't have allowed her to send a message… unless he or Téa were in some kind of trouble and couldn't stop her. Ever so slowly, he got up from his chair, and as Travencore was occupied with the message, Mokuba crept towards the boardroom door.

The message was, as Mokuba suspected, a warning from Vulsor that their plan had been uncovered, and that she currently had Seto Kaiba at bay by using Téa as a shield. And she had also instructed Travencore (very specifically) not to let Mokuba escape.

Travencore looked up, and saw Mokuba heading for the door. With a roar of frustration, he went after the boy, who immediately broke into a run. It was a blessing for Mokuba that Travencore was not an athletic man; unfortunately, he was determined not to let him escape.

But Mokuba was no fool, either; he had learned many an escape trick from his older brother. He made it to the nearest elevator, but his presence hadn't gone unnoticed; one of the Dronyche Company workers saw him pressing the "down" button, and raced back to his office to call Travencore.

Within moments, Travencore cut the power in the building, and he and a number of other workers swarmed to the stalled elevator, determined to force it open and take the boy captive. But Seto had taught Mokuba well; unbeknownst to any of the others, he wasn't even in the elevator at all.

The raven-haired boy had _intended_ for someone to see him activating the elevator. He knew that a power cut would follow. Mokuba chuckled to himself as he sped down the stairwell, unseen by anyone, since they were all busy trying to force "him" out of the elevator. It was a ploy worthy of Seto himself, he realized.

But he reminded himself that Seto and Téa might both be in trouble at the moment. His smug look faded slightly as he burst out the front doors of the building. He knew where he had to go; Seto might not be pleased with the idea, but Mokuba knew that he had to alert Yugi and the others about this right away.

He was just in time; he approached the Kame Game Store just as Yugi, Joey, and Mai were running out.

"Mokuba! Thank goodness you're alright," said Mai. "We just found out that the editor of the Gazette is the vice-president of the Dronyche Company."

"Tristan called to tell us that he found out that the editor was currently at a meeting with the vice-president of the Kaiba Corporation," said Joey. "And so we thought that you might be in trouble…"

"I already know," Mokuba replied. "I just escaped… but something tells me that Seto and Téa aren't as lucky. Travencore got a text message from Vulsor, the head of Dronyche, and that was when they went after me."

"And you still don't know where Téa and your brother are?" asked Yugi.

"He did mention that he was going to the theater; that was why I went to the meeting in his place," Mokuba recalled. "But I didn't think that he would still go if Vulsor was following him, especially when he was that annoyed about all of the spiders showing up at our office."

"Or maybe he would," said Yugi, deep in thought. "…so that he could confront her there… Mai, we need to pick up Tristan and the others and head to the theater as soon as possible."

"That won't work," said Mokuba. "Seto said that he locked the doors behind him specifically so that no one else could interfere. I could go back to Kaiba Corporation to try and get a skeleton key, but the exterminators might be in the middle of fumigating the place."

"We don't need to go to the theater," said Mai. "I bet that since Dronyche Company is behind the entire thing, they might end up taking Téa and Kaiba to their headquarters. I bet the reason they were after you was so that they could gather their captives all in one place. And if Travencore and Vulsor are really in this together, then I wouldn't be surprised if those underground passageways beneath the theater lead us right to the Dronyche Company anyway. So we'll just go there and head them off before anything can happen to the others."

"Mai, you're brilliant!" said Joey. "So all we have to do now is to go over there and pound on the doors until they free Téa and Kaiba! And then we make them sorry that they ever sprang those spiders on us!"

"I don't think it's going to be that simple, Joey," said Mokuba. "We'll have to be careful about how we go about this, otherwise, there's no telling what they'll do to Seto and Téa…" His eyes widened as a plan came to him. "I've got it! Mai, after we pick up the others, we need to make a stop at the nearest clothing retailer; it may be our only chance of getting in!"

Mai was confused, as were the others, but she nodded anyway.

* * *

"You're trying my patience, Kaiba…" said Vulsor, as she waited for him to come to a decision. "And you aren't doing yourself any good, either; your blood pressure must be through the roof right now."

"And whose fault is that!?" Seto quipped.

"Oh, you could accuse me," she said, with a toss of her head. "But you can also blame this girl for putting you in this position. Of course, she'd probably say that this is a result of your own doing, isn't that right, Miss Gardner?"

"No…" Téa said, feeling sick. "Kaiba, I never meant--"

"Of course you're right again, Gardner," said Seto, looking away. This time, he wasn't sure if he was bluffing, or if the bitterness he was feeling was genuine. "If I hadn't changed, I would've still been formidable enough to keep away lunatics like Vulsor from ever trying this. If I hadn't allowed myself to be dragged into all of your little misadventures, I never would've changed! If I had just insisted to work alone, I wouldn't even be in this position right now!" The bitterness and rage were rising with every word he spoke. "Don't bother trying to say that you never meant it, Gardner; I know what you really think of me. I never expected any gratitude for saving your life, and I certainly never received any! How fitting that the one who preaches about friendship would be so cold!"

Now Téa's rage had sparked as well; it was a self-fulfilling prophecy when she had complained to Yugi about Seto bringing out the worst in her. And it was happening again.

"I was never this cold, but you drove me to it!" she retorted, forgetting all about the funnel web spider a few inches in front of her. "Over and over again we tried to show you what friendship was, but the concept never seemed to penetrate that thick skull of yours! Why did we ever bother!? Go on, then, if you want! I'm not expecting anything from you, either!"

"_Yes, that's right, just leave!_" Seto's pride agreed. "_For once, she speaks sense._"

Téa, in the meantime, realized what she had just said.

"_I've done it again…_" she realized. "_This isn't me, and yet, I just blew up at him again. …Maybe __I'm__ the one who brought all of this on __myself__…_"

Seto could sense that she felt remorseful. He could almost excuse her outburst; he doubted that anyone would be able to keep his or her cool if they were being held that close to a venomous spider. But that didn't change how sharply the words had stung, whether she had meant them or not.

In spite of it all, he knew that he simply could not leave her here. The question was whether or not he was willing to sacrifice himself for her now. Would he be able to, or would his pride forbid him from doing so?

He never did find out the answer.

Vulsor had suddenly glanced at her watch and said, "Time's up, Kaiba. You didn't choose, so I'll have to make the choice for you. And I've decided that I'll take the both of you."

And that was when he felt a blow to the back of his head; he had stalled for too long, and one of her henchmen had attacked him. As he sank to the cavern floor, he was aware of Téa's scream. He struggled to remain awake, but slipped into unconsciousness, praying that no matter what, Mokuba would be a safe distance away.

"Kaiba, no!"

"Well, that simplified things considerably," sighed Vulsor. "And I trust, Miss Gardner, that you'll come along quietly."

Téa nodded, feeling miserable and guilty. She couldn't help but agree that she was the reason why Seto Kaiba was now a captive of his enemies.


	16. The Funnel Web Spider

Seto wasn't sure for how long he had been unconscious, but his return to awareness resulted in the revelation that he was no longer in the cavern, but on a tiled floor. Téa was beside him, also.

"Are you okay, Kaiba?" she asked, somewhat timidly.

"What happened…?" he asked, ignoring her. "Where am I?"

"Why, don't you remember, Kaiba?" came the familiar sing-song voice of their captor. "You were trying to stop me from ruining your company, so you ended up in the caverns beneath the performing arts center, where your indecisiveness led to the capture of yourself and you friend over there."

"Don't start with me, Vulsor…" Seto replied, as he became more aware of his surroundings. "Trust me when I say that the situation would be very different if you hadn't sunk to using underhanded tactics."

"Underhanded tactics?" asked Vulsor, still using the same annoying tone of voice. "Come now, Kaiba. I'm only using the very same tactics that the great Gozaburo taught you."

And that was when Seto remembered the scan of Exodia Necross that Leon had sent. That piece didn't quite fit into this equation, unless…

"My stepfather somehow put you up to this, didn't he?" Seto asked.

"Guilty as charged," Vulsor said, not concerned in the least. "I happened upon the oddest computer file a few months back, and was able to establish a connection to Gozaburo Kaiba. At first, I thought it was some sort of trick or prank… but it was very real. And he promised me money and power, providing that I totally dismantle Kaiba Corporation and ruin the name of Seto Kaiba. Of course, I asked him why he would want to ruin his own heir. And that was when he told me of your treachery. And I agreed to help him with his revenge."

"You have no right to speak of treachery," Seto snarled back. He tried to get up to fight back, but Téa screamed for him not to move. "What is it now!?" he asked the dancer, annoyed.

"Oh, that's right; I forgot to mention," said Vulsor. "You two are trapped here. See those laser beams surrounding you? If any one of those beams break, it will release the electronic locks on that case above you."

Seto looked up, and was disgusted to see a large, plastic case filled with dozens upon dozens of funnel web spiders. Her plan was clear; there was no way they'd be able to escape a shower of spiders without getting bitten at least once, unless they were especially lucky. And given their recent fortune, Seto doubted that their luck would be any good, which meant that she had them trapped. And the realization of that was infuriating.

"And, with that, I have some business to attend to," said Vulsor. "Oh, and by the way… if you were wondering where the rest of your computer chips are, they're right upstairs in my office. I really must give you credit; the coding on those are impossible to break. But I'll be back in a few hours; maybe then, you'll be in a mood to tell me how to crack that code."

With that, she departed the room, closing the door behind her and locking it. Seto glared daggers at her retreating back before turning to Téa. He knew that yelling at her would do no good, but that didn't stop him from allowing his annoyance to remain obvious.

"Alright, I'll ask _you_," he said. "What happened, and where are we!?"

"You were knocked unconscious by one of her cronies," said Téa. "And she used you as the shield this time to get me here."

It struck Seto as odd that Téa would agree to Vulsor's demands to ensure his safety, especially after she had been arguing with him only moments before. But that was the least of his worries.

"And where exactly is 'here,' since I clearly can't read your mind?" Seto asked, with his typical sardonic air.

She decided to ignore the sarcasm.

"We're in one of the storage areas in the Dronyche Company cellars," she said. "The passageways ended up here. But it doesn't really matter; she has us here in this trap, and we can't escape without getting bitten by those things…"

"You do know that it's your fault we're here in the first place, right?" asked Seto, unfeelingly. "What on earth possessed you to go wandering around in the theater cellars, anyway!?"

"What on earth possessed you to go down there yourself!?" she asked; she wasn't about to let him win this argument.

"Well, excuse me for saving your life!" Seto retorted. "That's the only reason why we're here! I hate to say that Vulsor _and_ Gozaburo were both right, but I never should have allowed myself to get involved with you and your teamwork mentality!"

"Well, I'm glad that you don't mind being alone and friendless!" Téa countered. "…because I certainly can't see anyone who'd have the patience to be a friend of yours! You are impossible!"

"That's rather insulting to say to someone who _did_ save your life," he pointed out. "You'll never be able to escape that fact, Gardner. It will haunt you for the rest of your days."

"Well, let me take this opportunity to thank you, so that I may eventually overcome that haunting thought," she said. "Thank you, Kaiba, even thought you were ready to leave me at Vulsor's mercy."

"I did no such thing," Seto shot back. "I was trying to stall for time so that I could find a way to get you out of there. If I had been on my own, this never would have been an issue!"

Téa opened her mouth to reply, but couldn't. Why couldn't he see that being alone wasn't the solution? But she didn't have anything to say that would support her case, especially when he was blaming her for this. Maybe she deserved it; maybe he deserved it, too. It certainly did seem like fate that after all of their bitter quarrels and arguments, they would be imprisoned here together, forced to endure each other's company.

Seto, on the other hand, was reliving those horrible days under his stepfather's tutelage. He didn't want to believe Gozaburo; that was the last thing he ever wanted to do. And yet, here he was, at the mercy of Vulsor and a group of spiders. Why did he have to go soft now, of all times!?

"If I ever get out of this, I'm closing myself off from everyone," he vowed under his breath. "I can't afford to concern myself with anyone… I'll never make this mistake again…"

But Téa heard him.

"_I guess life really __has__ disappointed him_," she thought to herself. And that was when she realized that she was part of the problem. By trying to convince Seto Kaiba to open his heart, she had instead (albeit unintentionally) driven him to further distance himself from the rest of the world. She blinked back the tears of remorse forming in her eyes. "_I'm sorry, Kaiba… I'm sorry I couldn't make you see… I'm sorry that it's my fault…_"

* * *

"Mokuba, are you sure about this?" asked Yugi, as he glanced at the new three-piece suit he was wearing.

Mokuba glanced at his creations. All of the boys were now wearing three-piece suits, and Mai was wearing a businesswoman's outfit.

"It's the only way we can get you guys into the Dronyche Company building," he said. "They'll be expecting you guys to show up for the rescue, so the only way to get in without raising any suspicion is if you're disguised as business clients. What do you say?"

"I say I have a new sympathy for Raoul de Chagny," said Joey, as he adjusted the apparently tight tie that he was wearing. "Now I know what he must've felt with that lasso around his neck…"

"Come on," Mokuba pleaded. "How else are we supposed to help Téa and my brother?"

"He's right, guys," said Tristan, though he clearly wasn't thinking too much about the new look, either. "We have to put up with this, if only until we get those two out of there."

"But what about Mokuba?" asked Bakura. "We can't exactly walk in with him; they'd recognize him in an instant."

"Oh, don't worry about me," said Mokuba, not concerned about it. "I got out without any of them noticing; it won't take much for me to find a way in. Now, I need all of you to be wearing your fedoras and sunglasses at all times; since Travencore has seen you all at the _Gazette_, he'd be quick to recognize you."

"There's one slight problem," said Mai, and she indicated Yugi, who was struggling to make the fedora stay on his spiky hair.

"I'll be fine," Yugi assured them. "It's Téa and Kaiba that I'm worried about. I gave my word to Mr. and Mrs. Gardner that Téa would come back to them. I don't want to disappoint them. And we already know that Kaiba is the only family Mokuba has left; he has to be as worried as we are."

The raven-haired boy nodded.

"So why are we all standing around here talking?" asked Duke.

The others agreed with him and headed for the Dronyche Company headquarters.

* * *

"I can't take this!" Seto fumed, as his cell phone still did not register any new messages. "That Vulsor is out pulling more underhanded tricks to ruin my company, and I still have no clue as to how Mokuba is doing!"

"But what are we supposed to do?" asked Téa, glumly.

"I don't know about you, but I'm willing to take my chances with those spiders," said Seto. "I still have my skeleton key; I should be able to make it out before the spiders attack."

"Hold on; there are two of us here!" said Téa. "What am I supposed to do!?"

"I would think that to be rather obvious," the CEO replied. "Run away as quickly as you can."

"Look… somehow, I can understand how you've come to your decision of distancing yourself from everyone else, even if I think that you're being incredibly insane for doing so," said Téa, now fearing for her own safety. "But you can't just run away and expect me to fend for myself against those nasty things! You did save my life back there, Kaiba; I'm certainly not denying it. So why on earth would you give up caring entirely!?"

Seto glanced back at her, and he could feel his conscience trying to make another stand against his pride.

"This is going to be the last time I help you, so don't expect me to look out for you again," Seto said at last, handing her his trenchcoat. "That should be thick enough to prevent the spiders' fangs from reaching you, but I expect it back the moment we leave this room."

She nodded, and wrapped herself in the thick fabric.

"Now!" Seto ordered.

They both made a run for the door, both of them trying desperately to ignore the cascade of funnel web spiders. It took only a few moments for Seto to unlock the door to freedom, but surrounded by countless fangs, it felt like ages. As soon as they made it out, Seto blocked the bottom of the door with the nearest crate to prevent the spiders from escaping.

"I have to admit…" said Téa, wiping sweat from her face. "That wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Oh, and thanks for lending me this," she added, handing him the trenchcoat back (after making sure that it was spider-free). "That's the second time I owe you."

Seto gave her an unreadable glance.

"Well, at least you were somewhat grateful this time…" he said, placing the trenchcoat back around him. "But I still stand by what I said earlier; you can forget me ever doing something like this for you again."

"I understand…" she said, barely audibly. But she was distracted by a commotion that was apparently coming from the floors above them. "What's going on up there…?"

"Looks like your personal rescue team is here, Gardner," Seto replied, as he indicated a closed-circuit camera. "…which means that my responsibilities concerning you are over."

"_What_ are they wearing!?" Téa asked, laughing. "Is that Joey in a suit? Oh, I never though I'd see the day…"

"You're free to laugh at them all you like; they're your friends," Seto went on. "I, for one, am leaving."

Téa didn't bother with trying to convince him not to go. She decided to let him handle the rest on his own. He'd prefer it that way, she realized.

She amused herself by watching her friends walk through the lobby in their new attire. Deciding that she may as well go up and join them, she headed down the corridor where Seto had left through a few minutes prior.

Unfortunately, her navigational skills weren't as sharp as she would have liked. In spite of going through several doors, she seemed to be going around in circles, unable to find an elevator or even a stairwell that would allow her to escape the cellars. And she didn't have forever to find a way out.

"_Oh, I knew I should have gone with Kaiba…_" she thought, as the maze of corridors seemed unending. "_It figures that I'd know my way around the theater cellars, but be clueless down here…_"

Téa checked her watch. It was nearly half an hour since their escape, and she was finding it miraculous that no one seemed to be aware of it. She knew that there was no point in trying to find Seto again; he would probably have found Mokuba and would be confronting Vulsor even as she walked.

But she was wrong; and she was shocked to find Seto collapsed in the middle of one of the corridors. He was conscious, but his expression looked pained, and sweat was pouring down his face.

"Kaiba!?" asked Téa. "What happened!? Did someone attack you when you were walking!?"

"No…" the young man gasped. Téa noticed that he was clutching his wrist.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. "Let me take a look…"

"No; it's nothing," he insisted, pulling his arm away and trying to get to his feet. "I'll be fine; I…" He trailed off as he fell back to the floor.

Téa seized the opportunity to grab his wrist and pull his sleeve back, and what she saw horrified her. There were two small, identical marks on his wrist, both of them right next to each other. By giving her his trenchcoat, he had put himself at risk, and now he was paying for it; one of the funnel web spiders had bitten him.


	17. Tears of a Lioness

"_This cannot be happening…_" Seto thought to himself, as he glanced at the small but devastating bite. "_How can a miserable little arachnid be the cause of my ultimate defeat!?_"

And yet, it was happening; he had ignored the funnel web spider's bite at first, assuming that it had been a dry bite, but he now realized that he had been mistaken. But really, what could he have done?

Téa glanced at the young CEO, her eyes widened in horror.

"Oh, Kaiba…" she whispered, kneeling beside him. "Just hold on, alright? You'll be okay; I'll put a tourniquet on you and call the others."

"No…" Seto said, pulling away from her. The last thing he needed now was her pity. "It's been half an hour since I've been bitten; a tourniquet would only have worked if I had used it in the first five minutes."

"Well, why didn't you tell me that you were bitten!?" Téa shrieked. She pulled out her cell phone and let out a cry as she realized that her fall into the water had rendered the phone useless.

"What would've been the use in telling you?" Seto asked, feeling his strength leaving him with every passing moment. He was feeling worse than he had ever felt before in his life. "Look, Gardner, go find your friends. They're actually waiting for you."

And that was when Téa realized the implications of his previous statement: that lending her his trenchcoat would be the last favor he would grant her. He knew that he would have received the bite; that would have been the last favor he'd ever be able to grant.

"Oh, Kaiba…" said Téa, letting the tears fall from her eyes. And that was when she recalled the last line of Madame Mystíca's prophecy.

"_A lioness will weep for a scorpion!_"

Téa, being a Leo, was therefore a lioness, and Mystíca had mentioned only a day ago that Seto was a Scorpio. And now, it was all coming true before her eyes, and there was nothing she could do for him.

"Kaiba, you sacrificed yourself for me," she realized. "Why would you do such a thing!?"

Seto glanced at her with sunken, glazed eyes.

"Because they came for you, not me," he said, referring to Yugi and the others. "People will miss you far more than they would miss me. Mokuba would be the only person who'd care…" He trailed off, a look of regret in his eyes. "Help him through this; tell him that I'll miss him, too…"

"No, no, _no_!" cried Téa, shaking him. "Kaiba, you're not going to leave him, and you're not going to leave the rest of us! Everything we've done for this case was to help you--"

"I'm no fool, Gardner," he replied. "They only got involved because of you, and you got involved because it was your theater that they were using."

He flinched as his head began to throb. Desperate for relief, he rested his head against the cold tile floor.

"Kaiba, you can't give up now," said Téa. "I always thought that you were a fighter; why change now!?"

"Why do you even care?" he asked, derisively. "I 'brought this upon myself,' didn't I? I deserved this, and maybe it's for the best, since I don't have any friends to miss me."

Téa couldn't reply. Oh, if only words truly could be taken back and forgotten, she would have done so. She would have erased the fact that she had ever said those words to him.

"Kaiba, I'm so sorry," she wept. "I know you don't believe me, but I am. And believe me when I say that we will miss you if you leave us, so please hang on!"

"I know you're just saying that," he replied, not taking any of her words to heart. "You're _expected_ to say that, as some way of making it easier for me… some way of making it seem as though my stepfather was wrong…"

"I'm not trying to make this easier for you; I want you to stay!" she cried.

"And why on earth would you want that—so that you could have someone around to argue with?" he asked.

"Kaiba, I told you I was sorry!" Her tone dropped slightly. "Please forgive me…"

"What's there for me to forgive?" Seto asked. "You were right, weren't you? No one would have the patience to be a friend of mine, and I wouldn't have the patience for it, either."

"If you pull through, I promise I'll try…" Téa whispered, so softly that she knew that Seto would never be able to hear her. "I haven't done a good job of practicing what I preach…"

Seto shuddered as the spider venom began to take a stronger effect upon him. Téa took his hand in hers, something she never would have considered doing before. She was shocked to discover that he was already starting to go cold.

"Kaiba, isn't there anything I can do?"

"Just help Mokuba," he said. "Make sure that he's safe, and that he gets out of here… He's resilient; I know that he will be able to move on eventually--"

"Stop it!" Téa cried. "You're talking as though you're already…" She couldn't bear to finish her thought. "There's still a chance that you can make it, so don't give up just yet!"

"Most of the world would prefer it if I _did_ give up…"

Was that regret in his voice?

"Kaiba, that's where friends come in," she said. "They're the ones who keep you going when the rest of the world wants you to quit!"

"Too bad that I don't have any…"

"I… I realize that you never considered the others—or me—as your friends," said Téa, softly. "But we considered you our friend. And that included me, too, though I never seemed to come to grips with it until now."

"Too little, too late…"

"I know," she agreed, suppressing a sob. "It's just that everything's changed since Atem left... I guess I was spending so much time missing him that I haven't been myself lately."

"I'll let him know you're still missing him," Seto replied, shuddering again. "But I have a few words for Gozaburo. I still can't believe that I have to admit that he was right."

"I don't know much about him, except for what he told us back in the virtual world; I could tell that he was a cruel person, and that he has to be wrong," said Téa. "He's the reason why you're so aloof, isn't he? You didn't deserve that, and you certainly didn't deserve this, either."

"You have no idea what he was like…" Seto replied, derisively. "Your life was full of fun and games. You could never understand what I've been through."

"Well, I understand that you should rise above all of that!" said Téa. "And as for my life… Well, I certainly don't call this any fun at all! _You_ could never understand what it's like to have a friend give up on themselves and slowly slip away in front of your eyes!"

Seto was almost ready to dismiss her statement as another attempt to make things easier for him, and yet, he could sense the genuine concern in her voice. But that didn't change that fact that it was all for nothing.

* * *

Mokuba had found his own way into the building, as he had intended, and met with the others in one of the corridors.

"OK, here's the plan," he said. "You guys need to pretend that you from some really big-name company, requesting a meeting with Vulsor and Travencore. Tell them that you want to make a business deal. Yugi, do you think you can come up with an interesting game proposal between now and when you meet them?"

"I'll try my best," Yugi promised.

"Just stall them until…" Mokuba trailed off.

"Now what's wrong?" asked Tristan.

"I… I think something's happened to Seto," the boy said, worried about his elder brother. "I don't know what exactly, but I have a bad feeling about it… Something serious…"

"That's exactly the way I felt when I sensed that Téa was in trouble," said Yugi. "We don't have any time. Mokuba, you go try to find your brother; we'll stall Vulsor and Travencore as long as we can."

The boy nodded and ran off in search of Seto.

"So…" said Joey. "How are we supposed to--?"

"Can I help you people?" asked a stern secretary, causing the teens to jump three feet into the air.

"Yes, you can," said Mai, trying to sound as professional as she could. "We request a meeting with Miss Vulsor and Mr. Travencore as soon as possible to discuss the trade of a new game our company is developing."

"And your company is…?" the secretary asked.

"Well, we're not that well-known, but they call us…"

"Turtle!" Joey said, recalling the turtle on the Kame Game Store sign.

"We're the Turtle Company," Mai bluffed, silently thanking Joey. "We haven't quite made a name for ourselves yet, which is what brings us here. Perhaps a collaborative effort between our two companies will make us better-known in gaming circles."

"And may I ask what your game is about?"

Mai exchanged glances with Yugi.

"That's classified," she said. "It's only to be shared between ourselves and your top executives. We have one chance at a successful project, and we aren't about to lose it if the plans fall into the wrong hands."

"One moment, please; I'll see if Miss Vulsor and Mr. Travencore will be willing to schedule a meeting with you," said the secretary, glancing at them with an upturned nose. Clearly, they weren't all that impressive, but at least they had been mildly convincing.

There was a collective sigh of relief as the secretary walked away.

"Mai, I think you're our new heroine," said Bakura.

"Thank me later, after this mission proves to be a success," she replied, none too confident about it. "I hope you've come up with a good game idea, Yugi, or else we're in trouble."

* * *

Téa wasn't sure for how long she had been by the young CEO's side, but he seemed to be getting worse and worse. Seto had fallen silent by this time, and now she was frantically trying to keep him conscious. She had wanted to believe that he would be able to pull through and recover, but as sweat continued to pour from the young man's face and as his breathing grew more and more labored, she had to admit to herself that only a miracle could save him now.

She was still holding on to his hand; she had vowed to herself that she would do so until he either recovered, or until he left for good. And given the state of things, she feared the latter to be the likely outcome.

"Are you still there, Gardner…?" Seto asked, after some time. His head was in a state of vertigo, and was barely aware of his surroundings now.

"Of course!" Téa said. "I'd never leave at a time like this…"

"You should," he replied. "Someone's bound to find you down here. And, anyway, your friends are looking for you, aren't they?"

"There's no way I could leave you alone at a time when you need someone more than ever," said Téa, her voice quivering as the tears continued to fall from her eyes.

"I don't need--"

"Kaiba, I need to tell you that I honestly do consider you as a friend. Sometimes we go through life assuming that people can read our minds and understand what we think about them. And we only realize that they can't after it's too late," she said. "I'm guilty of that."

"Do you have to go on and on?" he asked. "I know that you don't want to be here; do you think I can't see through all of your speeches? All of those arguments we've had tell me everything, Gardner, so why keep up the masquerade? I know that you can't stand me."

"There was a time when I couldn't," she admitted. "There was so much about you that I didn't understand… so much that I refused to see… I thought you were this selfish loner who didn't care about anyone except himself."

"I wish I had stayed that way…"

"But you never _were_ that way, Kaiba; don't you see?" said Téa. "If you _had_ been a selfish loner, you never would have risked so much for Mokuba. And you never would have helped us all those times that you did help. It just took me a long time to see that."

He wanted to dismiss this again as another attempt at making him feel better about himself, but here, too, he could sense the sincerity in her words.

"I don't know why I always end up arguing with you, Kaiba," she went on. "I even mentioned to Yugi just yesterday that you always seem to bring out the worst in me. And I never could figure out why I kept trying to lecture you, especially when you never seemed to listen."

"And you've figured it out now?" Seto asked.

"_Yes, I have_," she thought to herself, not daring to speak aloud. "_I cared about you too much to stand by and watch you put yourself through so much day after day. And to sit here right now and watch this happen to you is more painful than anything I've ever experienced._"

Seto didn't even seem to be waiting for a reply; he had a faraway look in his eyes, and a slightly amused expression.

"I'd miss those arguments, Kaiba," she said, at last. "Maybe that's our strange way of showing our concern."

"So I'm not hated…" he mused aloud. "That's… something I never… expected to hear…" He trailed off as he fell unconscious.

"Kaiba? Kaiba!?" Téa cried, trying to bring him back. "Not now, Kaiba, please!"

But he was out cold; there was nothing she could do but keep her vigil over him and pray that he would somehow awaken.

"Saying goodbye to Atem was too much," she said, softly. "You can't leave us, too."


	18. The Will of a Scorpion

"Ah, there you are," said the secretary, returning to where Yugi and the others were. "You're very fortunate; Miss Vulsor and Mr. Travencore are quite busy right now, but they are willing to discuss your proposition with you."

"Assuming we have one…" Duke muttered under his breath.

"Don't worry; I have this one covered," Yugi replied, as the secretary led them to the boardroom. "Just lave this to Mai and me. Do you think the rest of you could somehow lose yourselves along the way? We need to spread out and find out where those two are."

"Got it," said Tristan. And one by one, he and the others fell back until they had distanced themselves.

"Here we are; try not to take up too much time…" the secretary trailed off. "Weren't there more of you?"

"I told you this was strictly classified," said Mai. "They will be waiting for us to finish our meeting. The only two people who know about this game are my associate and me… and I'm not too sure of it myself, either… But as it is, the less others know, the better it is."

The secretary replied her with a nod and a look that clearly read, "Whatever; I think you're thoroughly insane. And who am I to stop you from showing it?"

Vulsor and Travencore were waiting for them. Travencore seemed subdued; Vulsor had obviously reprimanded him for allowing Mokuba to escape. And Vulsor herself clearly looked impatient, and not just because of the raven-haired boy outsmarting them; she seemed to be keen on returning to the cellars to question Seto about the computer chips. She was still unaware that one of her funnel web spiders had rendered him unconscious.

"I'm Aranea Vulsor, head of the Dronyche Company. And to whom do we owe the honor of this meeting?" she asked, shaking Mai's hand.

"Harp," the young woman replied, her trademark Harpy Lady card being the first thing that came to mind. "It's Miss Harp, head of the Turtle Company."

"And I'm her assistant, Mr. Atem," Yugi added, also speaking the first name that came to his mind. "_I just hope he forgives me for using his name like this…_" he thought to himself.

"The Turtle Company…?" asked Vulsor. "That's a new one. So what exactly is this game of yours?"

"Well," Yugi began. "It takes place in ancient Egypt, and you take on the role of a Pharaoh…"

Mai struggled to keep her face straight, acting as though she had expected this.

"…And you travel all through the kingdom, trying to stop the evil sorcerers…"

Vulsor was listening, but something about her expression unnerved Mai. She seemed like she was expecting this too. And Yugi, also, seemed to sense this.

"Is something wrong, Miss Vulsor?" he asked, exchanging a quick glance with Mai. "If you don't like the idea, you can tell me; we can just as easily come up with something else."

"I daresay you can; you seem to have come up with plenty, Mr. Atem…" said Vulsor. "Or should I say, Mr. Muto?"

* * *

"Hey, Tristan… where exactly are we supposed to be looking?" asked Joey, who was still trying to readjust his tie.

"How do I know?" the other youth replied. "This is my first time infiltrating a place like this, too--"

"Excuse me," said a harried-looking man, running past them. "Have you seen a boy with long, black hair at all since you arrived here? Mr. Travencore has been searching for him."

Tristan looked away, not wanting the man to see him go pale, especially if he had happened to overhear what he had just said. Fortunately for him, the man was too concerned with trying to find Mokuba to notice.

"Yeah, I thought I saw a kid like that about a minute ago," bluffed Joey, foolishly talking with his normal air. "I think he was heading for the vending machine or something…"

The man noticed Joey's accent; he had been far too obvious.

"What?"

"I said I saw…" Joey trailed off, realizing his mistake. He cleared his throat, making sure that his sunglasses obscured his eyes. "Excuse me; my voice hasn't been the same since that bout of the flu… It tends to go a bit nasal at the most inopportune moments; I'm sure you can relate. It's another one of those days, isn't it?"

"I suppose…" said the man, who was glancing derisively as Joey still continued to loosen his necktie.

"_We're done for…_" Tristan thought, slapping his forehead.

"Hold on!" said the man, recalling what Joey had said. "Did you say that you saw the kid head for the vending machines?"

"Yeah—I mean… Yes, I did."

"Thanks," the man said, and he ran off.

"Man, that was a close call," said Tristan, sighing with relief. "You're lucky he was so obsessed with trying to find Mokuba."

"Tell me about it," agreed Joey, finally wrenching the tie off in frustration. "I think this tie was blocking the oxygen that my genius mind needed."

Tristan gave him a derisive look. "So does your genius mind have a plan to find Téa and Kaiba?"

"Now that you mention it, yes!" the blond youth exclaimed. "We look behind every door we come across, starting with this one right here!"

"Uh, Joey? That's…" Tristan trailed off and flinched; Joey unleashed a frantic yell as a cascade of cleaning products rained down upon him. "…That's a broom closet…"

"Well we know that _now_," Joey said, trying to remove his foot from the mouth of a bucket. "Are you going to help me put all of this stuff back, or not?"

"Why not? You've pretty much lost every shred of corporate dignity you ever had… Oh, wait; you never had any."

"Actually… you're right on this one, Tristan," sighed Joey, giving a groan of disgust as he glanced as his suit, which was now covered with cleaning solution. "I'm not cut out for this kind of scene."

"You and me both," Tristan agreed.

There was a scream emitting from down the corridor; it was Vulsor.

"Did you think I was foolish enough to _not_ look up your 'company' before I agreed to meet with you!?" they heard her yell. "I _know_ you fools don't exist. And I knew about that name, Atem, from the transmitted tarantula that we planted in Mystíca's shop last night when you had that séance! And we saw all of you underground with Seto Kaiba earlier that night, too; we _can_ recognize voices! You were sent by his brother to find him, weren't you!?"

"Apparently, Yugi and Mai aren't cut out for it either," said Tristan, flinching again.

"So how about we quit playing this game of charades and do what we do best?" Joey asked. With a mischievous grin, he grabbed one of the brooms. "How about we trip up these guys?"

"Joey, you read my mind," Tristan replied, grabbing a second broom.

* * *

Several floors below, Téa continued to remain by Seto's side. He was slipping in and out of consciousness, but he no longer had the strength to speak. After spending a brief period of time in a state of awareness, he soon was out cold again, leaving Téa to continue praying.

"Please…" she pleaded, to no one in particular. "If someone's planning a miracle… now is the time for it…"

And her plea was answered in the most unimaginable form. She heard a familiar chattering sound beside her and was stunned to see a well-dressed capuchin glancing at her.

"Delphi!?" she asked, amazed.

The monkey leaped onto Téa's shoulder, pointing to Seto's wrist and speaking in her own tongue. Animals could sense these things, after all.

"I don't know what to do," Téa wept, not even sure if the little primate could understand her. "I've been speaking to him all this time to let him know that he's not alone, but there's nothing else I can do; my cell phone is broken, and his phone is password-locked. I feel so pathetic…"

The monkey emitted a chatter that sounded like, "Aww…" She then pulled a small bottle from the pocket of her little robe and handed it to Téa. Attached to the bottle was a note in Mystíca's handwriting.

"_To the lioness, I say 'dry your tears'  
__In spite of all understandable fears.  
__My heart may as well have been made of kelp  
__If I had left without giving some form of help.  
__Yes; I long foresaw these terrible deeds,  
__And so here I have what the scorpion needs.  
__Give it to him now, and hold no doubt  
__Quickly—before his time runs out._"

Téa reread the note and glanced back at the bottle, trying to suppress the wave of emotions that she was feeling.

"It's the anti-venom!" she gasped in disbelief. "Kaiba, did you hear that?"

Of course, he hadn't, and Téa didn't bother to think about it. Carefully, ordering herself not to tremble, she administered the dose of anti-venom to the unconscious young businessman.

"I've done everything I possibly can," she said, and Delphi agreed with a nod. "I guess from here on out, it's up to Kaiba if he wants to come back." She paused, glancing at him. "If it makes any difference, Kaiba, I want you to come back… and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks so."

Delphi chattered in agreement.

* * *

Seto, in the meantime, was desperately trying to overcome the intense drowsiness that he had been feeling. It was keeping him unconscious, and yet he was somehow aware of it. But now his subconscious was also feeling drowsy, and he knew that it couldn't be a good sign.

"_You mustn't sleep_," a voice said. "_You cannot leave her now; she needs you more than you think_."

"Who on earth is that!?" Seto asked aloud. "Am I so out of it that I can't even recognize voices anymore!?"

"_No, my friend_," said a second voice. "_You do not know us… at least, not in this time and age._"

"Oh, no; don't tell me that it's more of that ancient tale coming back…" Seto groaned.

"_Not at all_," said a third voice. "_Not unless you wish to believe it. And perhaps one day you will do so_."

"I don't see that happening…" Seto muttered under his breath. But then he spoke back to the voices, as he realized the implications of their earlier statements. "Hold on… What did you mean by 'she needs you more than you think'? You can't be talking about Gardner!"

"_Who else would be talking about?_" asked one of the voices.

"So let me get this straight…" said Seto, derisively. "You're forcing me to go back because I have some promise to fulfill to Gardner, when I never even promised her anything to begin with?"

"_We're not forcing you; we have no power to send you back at all_," said the gentlest voice. "_It is your decision alone to make._"

"_And it is a difficult one_," said one of the other voices. "_Many have tried to make the choice to return and have failed. We did not witness it, but long ago, your counterpart was one of those who failed._"

"I assume that you're referring to the man in the _kepresh_ who just happens to look like me," Seto replied, with a roll of his eyes.

"_Indeed; he reigned upon the throne of Egypt for a great many years_," said the voice. "_But even so, he left the throne far before he should have done so. It was beyond his power to prevent it. But perhaps you will be able to succeed today where he failed all those years ago._"

Speaking of him, are you sure he isn't here?" asked Seto. "If memory serves me (and it always does), the last time I ended up in a state like this, he and Yugi's twin both lectured me until I went back."

"_No; they are not here, because you are not in that dire of a state yet. But if you wish to prevent that from happening, you must return now. She has given you the anti-venom; your strength should begin to recover enough for you to do so._"

And somehow, it all made some kind of bizarre sense. Obviously, he would be in Téa's debt because of the anti-venom. That knowledge was annoying; Seto didn't think too much about being in another person's debt… Of course, he _did_ save her from drowning, so maybe this would settle things between them once and for all. And there was also the issue of making sure that Vulsor learned that trying to ruin Kaiba Corporation was a mistake.

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me who you are…" Seto said to the voices. "_Terrific_," he thought to himself. "_I've been talking to invisible voices. I've officially lost it…_"

"_There is no need to know who we are for now_," came the reply. "_For the moment, know that we are friends._"

"Lucky me…" he replied, with another roll of his eyes.

"_Seto?_" a far-off voiced called. This was a voice that Seto recognized.

"Mokuba…?" he asked, forgetting about the other, unknown voices.

"_Kaiba… Kaiba, please wake up!_" came Téa's frantic whisper. "_Mokuba's coming. You can't let him see you like this; he'd be devastated. Please tell me that you got that anti-venom in time…_"

* * *

"Come on, Kaiba…" said Téa, and she paused as the boy arrived. "Oh… Mokuba…"

And the boy did unleash the devastated cry that Téa had feared.

"What happened to him!?" he asked, kneeling beside his elder brother.

"He was bitten by a venomous spider," she answered. "I gave him the anti-venom, thanks to Delphi. He hasn't woken up, but he definitely looks better than before I gave it to him…"

"Who says I haven't…?" the CEO replied, feigning annoyance. "Open those eyes of yours, Gardner."

"Seto!" his brother exclaimed.

Téa merely buried her face in her hands, crying with relief.

"Are you alright, Seto?" asked Mokuba.

"I'll pull through," he assured him. "I just need a minute to rest, and then I can have a few words with the one responsible for this…" He trailed off as Delphi danced around him, chattering happily. "What is this _thing_ doing here!?"

"Yes, you'll _definitely_ pull through, since you definitely sound normal," Téa said, with a slight laugh. She dried her tears, silently thanking the one or ones behind this miracle. "Actually, Kaiba, if it hadn't been for Delphi, I never would have gotten the anti-venom. Mystíca sent it with her."

"Didn't I tell you to go and find your friends?" he asked. "Don't tell me that you've been here all this time."

She nodded, biting back the lecture she wanted to give him. "_He's been through enough already_," she told herself.

"_I suppose I owe you for that, Gardner_," he thought to himself. After all, if she _had_ left, there would have been no one to give him the cure. That reminded him of those strange voices he had heard. Who were they--spirits? Or had that conversation been a dream?

He decided not to concern himself with the matter. The important thing was that the funnel web spider hadn't gotten the best of him. And the truth was that he never would've pulled through if he had been alone. The realization of that was inescapable.


	19. Turnabout is Fair Play

"And there's another point for our side!" exclaimed Joey, as another Dronyche worker went sailing through the corridor upon tripping over a well-placed broom. "I believe the scoreboard currently reads tag-team: five, Dronyche: _zero_!"

"Yeah, whoever would've thought that all of our childhood games of broom hockey would actually amount to something worthwhile…?" mused Tristan, as he floored another worker.

"Uh-oh…" said Joey. "Hold it, Tristan; we've got allies coming!"

Mai and Yugi were quickly retreating down the corridor, pausing as they saw Joey and Tristan.

"She didn't believe us for a second," Yugi explained, trying to catch his breath.

"Yeah, we heard," said Tristan. "Listen, you two go find Duke and Bakura; leave those two to us."

"I already sent Duke a message; they're going to try to meet us in the lobby," said Mai. "Forget those creeps and come on!"

Travencore was already heading for them, and Joey picked up the broom again, sending him crashing to the ground with a well-aimed strike.

"Joey, I hate to say it, but there's no time for this," said Yugi.

"Alright, then; Tristan and I will lead the way!" he said, holding his broom like a hockey stick. "Charge!"

"Stop! No!" came Bakura's frantic voice from down the hall. "Don't charge! Don't come this way!"

"They've sealed off the lobby!" called Duke. "And they're right behind us!"

The other four glanced back nervously as Travencore and the other workers began to get back on his feet.

"Tristan?" asked Joey.

"I'm on it!"

The two of them successfully ploughed through the foes, allowing the opening that the others needed to flee.

"Well, this is wonderful…" said Mai, sarcastically. "Does anyone know where we're going?"

"I don't know," said Yugi, pausing to glance back at the boardroom. "But Vulsor isn't in there; she must've gone somewhere, too. But why wouldn't she chase after us, too? Is she just not bothered, or…?" He trailed off, his eyes wide. "Oh, no; she must be going to wherever Kaiba and Téa are being held. She's probably going to use them as bargaining chips to take us prisoner!"

"Then we'd better floor as many more of these creeps as we can!" roared Tristan, tripping up another worker who had just stepped outside to view the cause of the commotion. There was the sound of a snap, and Tristan held up his now-broken broom. "On second thoughts, maybe we'd better run…"

* * *

Vulsor had been distracted from the chase by a call from one of her henchmen. He had been viewing the closed-circuit cameras installed underground, and had happened upon the knowledge that Seto Kaiba had been bitten by a funnel web spider.

"If the time on the camera is correct, it's been almost an hour since he was bitten," said the man. "There's no way he could've lasted this long."

"I would have wished that he hadn't gone without first divulging the secret of those computer chips," she said, with a slight click of her tongue. "But no matter; I guess this means that Kaiba Corporation is as good as mine now…" She trailed off after receiving a text message on her cell phone.

"_Kaiba Corporation is not yours; it still belongs to me. You are only going to rule it in my stead._"

"Oh, settle down, Gozaburo; I've done what you wanted. The least you can do is let me enjoy my moment of triumph," she replied.

"_And have you forgotten about the young one?_"

"Of course I haven't," she assured him. "But now that you mention it, perhaps he knows how to decode the computer chips…" She quickly called up Travencore. "The elder Kaiba met with one of our funnel webs; he's out of our way. Find the younger one and bring him to my office as soon as you round up those other kids. …What do you mean they got away from you!?"

"Two of them had brooms--"

"Never mind; I do _not_ want to hear it!" she snarled. "You tell them that their little dancer friend is in my office; that'll make them come quietly. In the meantime…" She trailed off with a smirk as the image from one of the cameras showed Téa trying to revive the fallen Seto. "In the meantime, send someone to the cellars to pick her up and bring her to me right now. Oh, and I guess they can bring what's left of Kaiba up here, too. And another funnel web wouldn't go wrong either."

* * *

"Téa, I have to ask…" said Mokuba, glancing at his brother, who was sleeping peacefully to regain his strength. "What made you decide to stay here, even after you thought he was… a gone case?"

"I honestly don't know, Mokuba," she said, softly so as not to wake him. "I'd like to think that it would something I'd do for anyone, but it seems as thought your brother needs people a lot more than he knows. I couldn't abandon him."

"Thanks for not leaving him," the boy replied. "He's probably never going to tell you, so I thought I'd say it for him."

She smiled, slightly.

"I wasn't going to hold my breath for it, either," she said. "But, either way, I'm glad he pulled through." Mokuba glanced at her with a slightly bemused expression, which prompted her to add, "It would've been terrible for you to have been all alone; I'm relieved that you won't have to experience that."

"You'd have missed him, too, wouldn't you?" asked Mokuba.

Téa paused to remember the tears that she had shed, but before she could reply, Delphi began to screech in fear, leaping to Mokuba's shoulder.

"What's wrong with her?" the boy asked, as the monkey began to tremble. He got his answer as footsteps could be heard down the corridor.

"Mokuba, get out of here," Téa instructed.

"But what about Seto?" the boy asked.

"Mokuba, you have to make sure that you're safe; remember, they'll be after you, too," she said. "And there's no telling what they'd do; they're liable to do anything. Please, go!"

Mokuba glanced at her, and then at his brother before reluctantly retreating into the shadows of the corridor. Téa, in the meantime, was trying to awaken the sleeping Seto, knowing that he would be in danger, too, but she didn't have the time. She was forced to her feet by a pair of arms.

"Let me go!" she yelled, and she flinched as another henchman casually tossed Seto over his shoulder. "What are you doing to him!? Haven't you done enough!? How much worse can you guys get?"

"You'll find out soon enough," came the reply.

Within minutes, she was forced to walk, and after they had gone, Mokuba and Delphi came out of hiding.

"Looks like it's up to us…" he said.

* * *

"So nice to see you again, Miss Gardner," said Vulsor, as her henchmen forced her to sit in one of the chairs in her office. They casually left Seto, who was still unconscious, on the floor. "Oh, come on!" Vulsor chided them. "The dead deserve a little respect, don't they?"

Téa willed herself not to react, as the henchmen readjusted Seto to a more regal pose, his hands now folded across his chest. Vulsor seemed certain that Seto hadn't made it, and hadn't bothered to check his pulse or anything. If she even bothered to look closely enough, she'd be able to see the slight rise and fall of his chest, but she seemed far more interested in taunting Téa about his "tragic end."

"It's your fault he's like this," she said. "But I'm sure you're aware of that already. It should've been you; apparently, that was Travencore you met down in the caverns, and he told me everything. If Kaiba hadn't saved you, he probably would've outwitted me, and I'd be in a jail cell right now. I'm willing to admit that. He was a worthy opponent."

"So… what do you want me for?" asked Téa, crying a few fake tears for Vulsor.

"Because you seem to be just the type of person that people will do anything to save…" she indicated the door, as Travencore ushered Yugi and the others in (Joey was still holding on to his broom). Téa's heart sank as she realized what was going to happen. "I'm glad to see you all here," Vulsor added, as they all sat down. "It is with deep regret that I must inform you that you have lost one of your number." She indicated Seto.

There was a collective gasp. Joey, Tristan, and Duke looked as though they were ready to smash something. Bakura looked away, apparently furious with himself that their efforts had been in vain. Yugi looked horrified as he glanced at his former rival, as did Mai. And then there was Téa, who knew that Seto was alive, but couldn't say a word about it.

"You came to rescue him, right?" asked Vulsor. "Well, that mission ended in failure. But you came for her, too, didn't you?" Vulsor seized Téa's arm and once again held the vial with the funnel web spider in it right in front of her. "Unless you want this mission to fail, too, I suggest that you comply with what I have to say, since this spider is one of the same ones that took out the late Seto Kaiba."

"Let's hear your demands first," said Yugi, giving her a glare that was rather reminiscent of Atem. "But you'd better let Téa go."

"I'd like for any one of you to contact Mokuba Kaiba," she said, ignoring Yugi's request. "Let him know that he's now an only child. And inform him that unless he shows up here in the next twenty minutes, he's going to end up completely friendless, too."

"Don't worry about it, Vulsor; I'm already here, so you can let my friends go!" said the raven haired boy, feigning sorrow and tears as well. "I'm not going to let you get away with what you did to my brother!"

"I'm afraid your friends need to be here," she said. "Otherwise, you might not be inclined to follow the orders I have for you. First of all, I need you to tell me how to decode the computer chips."

"Well, I don't know," Mokuba bluffed. "Seto had kept everything about them under wraps; I can't help you with them."

"Oh, I suppose it doesn't matter; if I keep at it, I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out on my own," said Vulsor, dismissing it. "But there is one more important matter. It's clear that you are far too young to run Kaiba Corporation. So allow me to take a load off of your shoulders… sign the company over to me."

"And why would I hand over the company to you after what you did to my brother!?" Mokuba retorted. "Anyway, I know what you're going to do. After I hand Kaiba Corporation over to you, you're just going to get me out of the way, too, so that I won't be able to one day reclaim it from you!"

"You don't know that for certain," said Vulsor, with another click of her tongue. "So don't jump to conclusions. You might actually be more useful if you're still working as a Kaiba Corporation employee. But it's your friends that you should be worried about. You've already lost your brother. Are you willing to lose them as well?"

Everyone was watching the exchange between Mokuba and Vulsor intently; not a soul in the room was aware that Seto Kaiba was already beginning to awaken. And he suddenly became aware of the argument as well.

"_So… Spiderwoman thinks I've checked out …?_" he mused to himself. "_This is going to end up working to my advantage…_"

"Ah, but of course, how foolish I am!" said Vulsor, glancing at Téa. "You wouldn't mind losing _this_ 'friend,' right? After all, if your brother hadn't bothered with saving her from drowning, he would never have put himself in the position for me and my funnel web spiders to finish him!"

This was news to everyone; Téa hadn't even told Mokuba about how Seto had saved her.

"Téa, you mean that Kaiba saved _you_!?" asked Tristan, stunned. "Why on earth would he do that!?"

"It was because he tried to defy his stepfather, who told him a thousand times that he couldn't trust anyone," she replied. "And I bet that Gozaburo is telling him right now that he should have listened…"

"Kaiba was our friend," said Yugi, still giving Vulsor an Atem-like glare. "He may never have admitted it, but he was. That was why he helped Téa. And you took advantage of that."

"Isn't exploiting the weakness of your enemy the first rule of battle?" she asked. "Yes, that was his only weakness. I wonder if Mokuba will make the same mistake… Very well, then, let's put him to the test, shall we?"

"Don't even think about it, Vulsor!" yelled Joey. "You've put him through enough torment by taking his brother from him; he's never going to get over it! So just leave him alone!"

"I'll gladly do so, Mr. Wheeler," she said. "In fact, I'll let him walk right out of this building. You can go, Mokuba, if you so choose. But if you do, I can't guarantee the safety of your friends."

Once again, everyone in the room was focused on the exchange between the woman and the raven-haired boy. They were all too busy to notice Seto rising to his feet. Mokuba saw him rise out of the corner of his eye, and was struggling to keep a straight face.

Joey then glanced over Vulsor's shoulder and saw Seto rise. Unlike Mokuba, he wasn't as prepared for Seto's revival; he, like the rest of Yugi's crew (besides Téa, of course) believed him to be gone. The blond youth's faced paled considerably, and he began to stammer, looking away, as he clutched the broom that he was still holding in an iron grip.

"Z-z-zombie…" he mumbled so that only those immediately next to him could understand what he was saying.

"What?" whispered Yugi.

"K-Kaiba… back for revenge…"

And now the others noticed Seto silently approaching Vulsor. Vulsor herself turned, and her moment of shock and horror was all that Seto needed to grab the vial with the spider from her, and force her away from Téa, who immediately retreated to where her friends were, silently thanking him.

And then all madness broke loose.

Joey quickly realized that Seto was alive, and went back to action with his broom, tripping Travencore as the burly man attempted to attack Seto. The others broke free of their captors; which wasn't too difficult, since they were too afraid to do anything with Seto holding the spider-filled vial.

"Your cell phone," Seto ordered Vulsor, who furiously handed it over. As Seto had expected, a new message from Gozaburo was on it.

"_You haven't checked the entire memory of the camera; my stepson is still alive._"

"She knows that now, Gozaburo!" Seto replied. With that, he tossed the phone aside, and moved to cut off Vulsor from escaping, since she immediately began to head for the door. "And where do you think _you're_ going, Miss Vulsor?" he asked her, with a sneer.

Vulsor was about to reply, but gave a frightened screech as something small and furry leaped onto her head, giving her a taunting chatter.

"Delphi!" Yugi exclaimed, as the monkey ran around the room, looking immensely pleased with herself for frightening Vulsor in such a way.

"That reminds me," said Mai, glaring at Vulsor. "What did you do with Madame Mystíca!?"

"The psychic!?" roared Travencore. "She disappeared without leaving us the daily horoscope! We didn't do a thing to her!"

But Téa already knew where the psychic had vanished to; she had gone to secure the anti-venom that she had foreseen the need for.

Vulsor seized the opportunity while everyone was glancing at Travencore, and she made one more move for the door. But Joey was ready with the broom, the end result being Vulsor ending up flat on her face.

"Brought down to earth in your own throne room," said Seto, with false sympathy. "I almost feel sorry for you; after all, there can't be anything worse, can there?"

"This isn't over yet, Seto Kaiba!" she retorted. "I still have my henchmen on my side!"

Travencore had crept behind Seto for the attack. Mokuba's cry had come too late, and Seto collapsed to one knee, still conscious after receiving the crushing blow, but the vial slipped from his grasp. Both he and Vulsor reached for it.

"Coming through!" called Joey, sweeping the vial away with his broom. "Bakura, it's all yours!"

"I've got it!" he exclaimed, grabbing it. But he only had it for a moment; Travencore charged, prompting him and the others to play a game of monkey-in-the-middle to prevent him from obtaining it. The game was ended by the actual monkey seizing the vial in the middle of a flying leap, chattering with an air of triumph and mischief as she landed on the desk.

Travencore dove at Delphi, who immediately jumped off of the desk, on and off Vulsor's head again, and bounded out the door. Both Seto and Vulsor, who were closest to the door, gave chase, all the way to the lobby. Delphi taunted Vulsor again, and threw the vial to the lobby floor. Seto bent to catch it, but Vulsor elbowed him in the stomach, momentarily knocking the wind out of him, and she swept up the vial in her hand with a mad laugh.

"Who's been brought down to earth now!?" she taunted the young businessman. "It's over, Kaiba!" She trailed off as a smirk found its way to Seto's face. "What's so funny!?"

"Because you're right; it _is_ over," he replied.

Vulsor glanced at the vial, and was stunned to see that it was empty; the lid had come off. She froze in horror as she noticed the blackish-blue spider crawling down her arm.

"I suggest that you don't move," said Seto, getting to his feet. "You wouldn't want to annoy it, now would you?"

"Some day, Seto Kaiba…" she quietly vowed, through gritted teeth. "I will have my vengeance."

"With all due respect, Miss Vulsor," he said, as the others arrived on the scene. "You'll have to get in line." He addressed Travencore. "Since your boss can't speak right now due to the spider waltzing down her arm, I may as well tell you the battle's over, and so do us all a favor: make sure that you and your group of thieves take your loss like a bunch of adults, and enjoy your stay in prison."

"Well, Kaiba, it's nice to know that you haven't lost that sense of humor of yours," said Joey.

Seto didn't reply; he merely rolled his eyes after noticing Joey's cleaning-solution-covered suit.

Vulsor, in the meantime, flinched as she heard the sounds of police sirens. Even if there hadn't been a spider spinning a web on her arm, she knew that there wouldn't have been a chance for an escape. Glory, power, and Kaiba Corporation had all been within her grasp. And one day, she vowed, she would get it. The great Seto Kaiba would pay—and so would his friends. In the meantime, she would have to endure the memory of that smug smirk.


	20. Epilogue

Vulsor's luck held out… to a point; she wasn't bitten, but she was arrested, along with Travencore and the rest of her henchmen. There were, of course, a great number of innocent workers who hadn't known a thing as to what had been going on. They were being questioned as Yugi and the others followed the Kaiba brothers back to Vulsor's office. Seto had been searching for Vulsor's cell phone, which he had cast aside during the fight. He finally found it, the only thing on it being a new, taunting message from Gozaburo.

"_This is only round one, 'Son,' so don't build up that confidence of yours any more; that's the last thing you need. I'll take my leave of this network, but don't worry; I have plans for a 'family reunion' very soon._"

With a growl of frustration, Seto threw the phone at the wall.

"That coward _knows_ he can't defeat me, so he lurks in the digital shadows pulling stunts like this!" he snarled.

"Well, does this makes things any better?" asked Mokuba, pointing to the filing cabinet that he had just opened. The remaining boxes of their missing computer chips were all inside.

"Well, I suppose we could pretend that the last few days never happened," said Seto, obviously pleased at retrieving them. He saw no reason to dwell on Vulsor or the mysterious voices, whoever they were. "A few all-nighters should put Kaiba Corporation back on schedule."

"_Of course he'd want to forget this entire fiasco… not that I blame him_," Téa thought. But she was slightly disappointed that her show of care and concern had apparently meant nothing to him.

* * *

After realizing that it was nearly two in the morning, the group decided to leave, each of them helping to carry some of the chips to Seto's limo. Mai offered to take anyone who needed it a ride to the Kame Game Store. Joey declined, deciding that he best head home, as his father would probably be asleep and would therefore not be able to ask him about arriving so late. Tristan and Bakura also declined, since it was out of their way, but Duke, who was heading for his game shop across the street, along with Yugi and Téa (who knew that her parents would still be there, worried sick) all agreed. And for some reason, Delphi decided to tag along with Téa.

Mai said her goodbyes at the door and drove off, and Duke also decided that the Gardners might prefer to be left alone. But as Yugi and Téa entered the shop, they were both stunned to see Madame Mystíca consoling the Gardners and Solomon. Delphi chattered happily and returned to her shoulder.

"Téa!" gasped Mrs. Gardner, hugging her. "Téa, where have you been!? What on earth happened!?"

"Why didn't you call us!?" asked Mr. Gardner, slightly annoyed as well as relieved.

"Oh, don't be so harsh with the poor girl," said Mystíca, as Yugi greeted his grandfather. "She has had a trying day, is that not so?"

"Thank you," Téa whispered, referring to the anti-venom. Mystíca replied her with a knowing smile.

"Téa, are you sure you're alright?" asked Mrs. Gardner, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Goodness knows how much I've worried…"

"I just got a little lost in the cellars, but I'm fine now, Mom," Téa promised. "I would've called, but my cell phone broke."

"Another broken phone…?" Mr. Gardner asked, slightly exasperated, recalling how she had somehow broken her phone back when she had been at the Battle City tournament years ago. But he cast the thought aside; his daughter was back, and that was all he really cared about. "Oh, it doesn't matter. Break all the phones you like, as long as you're alright."

Téa smiled, grateful to have both of her parents to understand her and to ensure that she would be alright. And that made her think of Seto Kaiba; he alone took on all responsibilities for himself, his company, and his brother. But who was there for him when he needed someone?

"_Maybe that's why he keeps up that aloof façade_," she thought to herself. "_He doesn't have anyone, so he makes it clear that he doesn't need anyone…_"

Mrs. Gardner was now thanking Yugi.

"Really, it's OK," said Yugi, somewhat sheepishly. "It's wasn't just me; I just helped out a little bit. The real credit goes to…" He trailed off; he wasn't sure if mentioning that Téa's life had needed saving was a good idea, let alone that the famously cold and aloof Seto Kaiba had been the one to save her.

"Well it doesn't matter," said Mrs. Gardner, giving him a hug. "Thanks for being such a good friend to our daughter."

"Téa, it's getting late; you need to go home and sleep, young lady," said Mr. Gardner, as he realized the time. "Can you wait outside the shop until your mother and I bring the car around?"

"Sure," she said, and said her goodbyes to Yugi and Solomon as her parents went to get the family car.

"I'm really glad you're okay, Téa," said Yugi. "I felt so terrible when I knew that you were in trouble, but couldn't do a thing to help you. If only Atem had been here, we probably would've gotten you out--"

"Yugi, when you were talking to Vulsor, you had no idea how much you seemed like Atem," she said, giving her best friend a hug as well. "It's obvious that he's taught you much, Yugi."

Yugi nodded; yes, Atem had taught him plenty of lessons during his stay, and he knew that those were lessons that he would carry with him for a long time… and then some.

"Well, I'd better go; I don't want to keep them waiting," she said. "See you soon!"

She stepped outside into the night air. A car was waiting for her, but she was astounded to see that it was a limousine.

"Kaiba?" she asked, incredulously.

As if to confirm her query, Seto himself got out of the limo and walked over to her.

"I thought you left already…" she said.

"Yes, but I neglected to mention that your dance student did eventually find her way home," he said, clearly not used to this sort of conversation. "And I suppose that it also dawned on me that I should thank you for all of your help, even though I didn't ask for it."

"Of course you didn't ask for it," she said, relieved that Sara was alright. "Friends don't have to ask for help; it's given that they'll receive it. Just like how you helped me, too."

Seto eyebrows arched slightly.

"And you helped me again, when Vulsor threatened me that second time in her office… even though you said you wouldn't grant me any more favors," she recalled. "So why did you help?"

"I can't be expected to honor every word I say," he said, with a casual shrug. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to return."

"Take care," said Téa, noticing her parents' car pulling up out of the corner of her eye. Seto replied with a curt nod and returned to his limo as she got into the car.

"Who was that, Téa?" asked Mrs. Gardner. "Is he another friend of yours?"

"Well…" she began, but then she recalled how he had saved her, and the vigil she had held until the moment he had revived. And then she thought of the conversation that they had just had, moments ago.

"Téa?" asked Mrs. Gardner.

"Yes, Mom," the dancer said, at last. "He's another friend."

* * *

Author's note: Wow, it's finally finished! Writing this story has been a wonderful experience, and I do have ideas for more. A big thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, and an extra-special thanks to LuckyLadybug, who more than helped to inspire this story; I dedicate the completed story to her. And I must credit my zoology/histology professor for the info on the funnel web spiders and for giving me the idea to use spiders in a story in the first place.


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